As a follow-up to a conference on Jewish population growth, two focus groups of young couples explored personal factors that motivate childbearing decisions. Couples reported that their decisions about how many children to have evolved sequentially, and depended on specific experiences with the first child and each additional child. Couples mentioned obstacles as well as inducements to raising a family. Parents of one child cited economic factors, career objectives, and limited time as deterrents to having more children. Couples with more than one child stressed the importance of transmitting Jewish values, voiced concern over Jewish survival, and expressed a desire to give love and nurture to offspring. This information has implications for Jewish communal policy and programming. It is important that the Jewish community as a whole stresses the advantages for the family and the society of couples' having children. In addition, measures should be initiated to minimize the professional sacrifice of dual-career couples who want children. (PCB)