The majority of women still want marriage and children, according to the 16th Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH).

Commonly, women aspired to be in a stable relationship, have some form of paid work, and to have at least one child. However, the details about paid work and number of desired children changed over time.

Women who hoped for marriage were more likely to want two or more children compared to other women.

The report from the University of Queensland was released by The Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP.

The report provided an interesting insight into women’s desires for children said co-author Associate Professor Jayne Lucke from the School of Population Health at The University of Queensland.

The four surveys of over 40,000 women drawn from three age groups.  18 to 23 when the first survey was made in 1996 and 28 to 33 when Survey 4 was conducted in 2006.

91 per cent of the women wanted to have children but at the time they were surveyed in 2006, aged 28 to 33, only half had a child.

Consistent with western trends, Australia’s fertility rate has declined since the but slightly increased after 2007.

While the most common desire was for two children, the number of women aiming for just one child increased over time as they grew older.

“Decisions to have fewer children reflect the later ages at which women are having their first child” said Associate Professor Lucke, “as well as other aspects of their lives such as career aspirations and whether they have a partner.”

While the oral contraceptive pill was the most preferred contraceptive method, its use its use had declined and other methods were used increasingly.. Of those who consistently used contraception, 40% used the pill as their only contraceptive method.

15 to 18 percent of of women used condoms as their only method of contraception, and 13-14% used both the pill and condoms..

For every 10 women, five had at least one child, four had not been pregnant and one had been pregnant but lost the baby.

39 per cent of women who had a child also reported having experienced a pregnancy loss. One in six women experienced fertility problems and of these women two-thirds had sought advice but only half had pursued fertility treatment.

Women who reported only miscarriages between surveys also stopped using contraception in the same

period; most women who did not report reproductive events continued to use the same method of contraception; and women who had a termination tended to switch methods.

The report concluded that there is a need for targeted interventions and public health messages that encourage women to maintain healthy diets physical activity throughout life transitions, particularly as they move into new personal relationships, during pregnancy and into motherhood.