Over the course of the twentieth century, fertility intentions, desires, preferences, and attitudes (fertility “goals”) became key constructs for demographic research on fertility. In high-fertility contexts, unwanted births and unmet need for contraception serve as a justification for intensifying family planning programs. In low-fertility contexts, desired fertility exceeds actual fertility, implying high prevalence of “unrealized fertility” and inspiring hope that appropriate policies can produce fertility rebound. In both contexts, the increasing focus in the past two decades on reproductive autonomy and reproductive justice centers women’s (and occasionally men’s) own desires and preferences as the foundational concern for policy and programmatic activity. Yet even as fertility goals have gained theoretical and policy importance, many questions remain around conceptualization and measurement of these constructs. This webinar will seek to explore the ways fertility goals have been defined and measured; how they have been used in scientific research and in policy applications; the challenges and limitations of these constructs, both theoretical and empirical; what is learned by analyzing fertility goals; and what is missed by centering individual fertility goals.

These questions will be explored in two webinars to be held in early 2025. This webinar will focus on the relationship between fertility goals and fertility outcomes, with presentations focusing on trends in three world regions.