In contemporary Czech society the changes of reproduction patterns take place. They are characterized by postponing the marriage and parenthood. So called informal partnerships or unmarried couples are becoming more frequent which also results in a growing number of births of extra-marital children. The number of women with children without partner is growing, too. Authors differentiate three types of them - widows, divorced women and women who voluntary want to have child without long-term partner. The third type of women is usually middle age, around 35 years old, they are successful in their jobs and they have enough financial resources to bring up child by themselves. The paper is based on pilot survey where 118 women took part. Respondents insist that woman can rear the child as good as both parents can do. However the specialists dispute this statement. According to psychologists children need both parents and the role of father cannot be easily substituted. Thus, the phenomenon of single parent family has to be considered within the complex set of conditions.
The article provides a detailed insight into a critical stage in the life course of young women. It focuses on the transition to first-time motherhood among women with tertiary education in heterosexual dual-earner couples in the Czech Republic. The plans of pregnant women regarding their working lives following the birth of their first child are compared with the subsequent realities of their lives (the first eighteen months of their motherhood). The study is based on longitudinal qualitative research conducted between 2011 and 2014. The research revealed that pregnant women did not consider motherhood and paid work as contradictory and that most of them anticipated working before their child´s third birthday. Due to the reality of motherhood and the chances of combining childcare and work, a number of the women in the sample changed their plans, did not return to work once their children reached eighteen months of age and did not expect to return to work in the near future. The lack of available non-maternal childcare or the unwillingness to take advantage of it were found to be the key factors in their decision not to work, coupled with a shortage of part-time work and flexible working arrangements (working hours and place of work). Conversely, the offer of flexible working conditions, the prospect of good financial rewards and a positive relationship between the woman and her work constituted the key reasons for women to return to work during the first eighteen months of their child’s age. With regard to the fulfilment of their plans, structural conditions and constraints were identified as being of greater importance than personal preferences.