title: "Caring for my family integrity": fertile couples' first childbearing experience in the urban society of Mashhad, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This qualitative study was conducted to discover fertile couples' experiences of having their first child in the urban society of Mashhad, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this grounded theory study, 45 participants were selected. In-depth interviews were conducted at health centres, homes and workplaces. Data analyses were carried out adopting Strauss and Corbin's mode of analysis through a constant comparative method applying open, axial and selective coding using MAXqda software. Study rigour was verified via prolonged engagement with participants, member check and debriefing with peers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The core category that describes couples' experience of having their first child was 'caring for my family integrity'. The process of first-time childbearing included four interrelated stages: (1) gaining confidence about the spouse's capability for being a parent, (2) evaluating situational conditions to make a decision whether to try to become pregnant, (3) managing childbearing across the life course and (4) parental role attainment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Couples' decisions about having their first child are influenced by their mutual relationship and the results of their evaluation of a variety of circumstantial, economic, child-training abilities and health-related conditions. Both planned and unplanned events influence childbearing experiences. It is important to comprehend the four-stage process and apply it in reproductive health care especially in the delivery of family planning services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences , Mashhad , Iran.
authors.forename: Talat
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Khadivzadeh
authors.forename: Robab
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Latifnejad Roudsari
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahrami
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taghipour
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abbasi Shavazi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology; D005191:Family Characteristics / Q000208:ethnology; D005195:Family Relations / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D066296:Grounded Theory; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology; D010298:Parity; D036301:Qualitative Research; D043762:Reproductive Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Childbearing; Reproduction; behaviour; fertility