Maternity as value in the context of social transformations

The value of family understood as a way of everyday life and a social institution is highly estimated, so the manner of fulfilling the family roles is controlled by the society. A women’s role of the mother is specifically sensitive from the social point of view. It is widely believed that maternity is the basic social role of a woman and even a social duty. If a woman does not want or cannot fulfil this duty, she is accused of egoism. This paper presents results of empiric research on single childless students and refers to their system of values and plans connected with marriage, procreation, and job. It has turned out, that the majority of the questioned students want to have more than one child, but they also think that coming up to their career expectations may overtake procreation decisions