Lotfi Razieh, Rajabi Naeeni Masoumeh Rajabi Naeeni, Rezaei Nasrin, Farid Malihe, Tizvir Afsoon
Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
Int J Fertil Steril. 2017 Oct;11(3):211-219. doi: 10.22074/ijfs.2017.5010. Epub 2017 Aug 27.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has experienced a dramatic decrease in fertility rates in the past three decades. One of the main issues in the field of fertility is the couple's preferences and the desire to bear children. This study aimed to determine desired number of children, fertility preference, and related factors among people referring pre-marriage counseling to clarify their presumed behavior in case of fertility.
This study was a descriptive analytic cross-sectional survey, conducted during 8 months. The participants were 300 couples came to pre-marriage counseling centers of two health centers of Karaj and asked to complete a 22 items questionnaire about of demographic characteristics, participants' interest, preference about fertility, and economic situation.
Majority of the males were between the ages of 20-30 years (66.6%) while majority of the females were below 25 years of age (57%). About 17 percent of men and 22.3 percent of women stated that they want to have 1 child and equally 52.7 percent of men and 52.7 percent of women wanted to have 2 children. The only factor that contributed to the female participant's decision for a desirable number of children was the number of siblings that they have. In male participants with an increasing age at marriage and aspiration for higher educational level, the time interval between marriage and the birth of the first child has increased. There was a convergence in desired number of children in male and female participants.
Majority of the participants express their desire to have only one or two children in future but in considering the fact that what one desires does not always come into reality, the risk of reduced fertility is generally present in the community. Appropriate policies should be implemented in order to create a favorable environment for children.
在过去三十年里，伊朗伊斯兰共和国的生育率急剧下降。生育领域的一个主要问题是夫妻的生育偏好和生育意愿。本研究旨在确定婚前咨询人群期望生育的子女数量、生育偏好及相关因素，以阐明他们在生育情况下可能的行为。
本研究为描述性分析横断面调查，为期8个月。研究对象为300对前来卡拉季两个健康中心婚前咨询中心的夫妇，他们被要求填写一份包含22个项目的问卷，内容涉及人口统计学特征、参与者兴趣、生育偏好及经济状况。
大多数男性年龄在20至30岁之间（66.6%），而大多数女性年龄在25岁以下（57%）。约17%的男性和22.3%的女性表示想要1个孩子，同样有52.7%的男性和52.7%的女性想要2个孩子。唯一影响女性参与者对期望子女数量决策的因素是她们拥有的兄弟姐妹数量。在男性参与者中，随着结婚年龄增长和对更高教育水平的追求，结婚与生育第一个孩子之间的时间间隔增加。男性和女性参与者在期望子女数量上存在趋同。
大多数参与者表示未来只想生育一两个孩子，但考虑到愿望不一定总能实现这一事实，社区中普遍存在生育力下降的风险。应实施适当政策，为孩子创造有利环境。
