School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Reprod Health. 2021 Jan 2;18(1):2. doi: 10.1186/s12978-020-01057-9.
Understanding women's desire to have more children is critical for planning towards future reproductive health behaviour. We examined the association between socio-economic and demographic factors and fertility preferences among women of reproductive age in Ghana.
This study used data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. The sample consisted of 5389 women of reproductive age. We fitted Binary logistic regression models to assess the association between socio-economic status and fertility preferences, whiles controlling for demographic factors. The results were presented as crude odds ratios (cORs) and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) together with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals.
Approximately 60% of women of reproductive age in Ghana desired for more children. Women with no formal education were more likely to desire for more children compared to those with higher level of education (aOR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.29-3.48). The odds of desire for more children was higher among women who lived in rural areas compared to those who lived in urban areas (aOR = 1.24, 95% CI 1.01-1.53). With region, women who lived in the Northern region were more likely to desire for more children compared to those who lived in the Ashanti region (aOR = 4.03, 95% CI 2.69-6.04). Similarly, women who belonged to other ethnic groups were more likely to desire for more children compared to Akans (aOR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.35-2.35). The desire for more children was higher among women with 0-3 births compared to those with four or more births (aOR = 7.15, 95% CI 5.97-8.58). In terms of religion, Muslim women were more likely to desire for more children compared to Christians (aOR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.49-2.34).
This study concludes that women in high-socio economic status are less likely to desire more children. On the other hand, women in the Northern, Upper East and those belonging to the Islamic religious sect tend to desire more children. To aid in fertility control programmes designing and strengthening of existing ones, these factors ought to be critically considered.
了解女性想要生育更多孩子的愿望对于规划未来的生殖健康行为至关重要。我们研究了加纳育龄妇女的社会经济和人口因素与生育意愿之间的关系。
本研究使用了 2014 年加纳人口与健康调查的数据。样本由 5389 名育龄妇女组成。我们使用二元逻辑回归模型评估社会经济地位与生育意愿之间的关联，同时控制人口因素。结果以粗比值比 (cOR) 和调整比值比 (aOR) 及其相应的 95%置信区间表示。
加纳约 60%的育龄妇女希望生育更多孩子。未接受正规教育的妇女比接受过高等教育的妇女更有可能希望生育更多孩子 (aOR=2.16, 95%CI 1.29-3.48)。与居住在城市地区的妇女相比，居住在农村地区的妇女生育更多孩子的可能性更高 (aOR=1.24, 95%CI 1.01-1.53)。就区域而言，与阿散蒂地区相比，居住在北部地区的妇女更有可能希望生育更多孩子 (aOR=4.03, 95%CI 2.69-6.04)。同样，与阿坎人相比，属于其他族裔群体的妇女更有可能希望生育更多孩子 (aOR=1.78, 95%CI 1.35-2.35)。与生育 4 个或更多孩子的妇女相比，生育 0-3 个孩子的妇女生育更多孩子的愿望更高 (aOR=7.15, 95%CI 5.97-8.58)。就宗教而言，与基督徒相比，穆斯林妇女更有可能希望生育更多孩子 (aOR=1.87, 95%CI 1.49-2.34)。
本研究得出的结论是，社会经济地位较高的妇女不太可能希望生育更多孩子。另一方面，北部、上东部和属于伊斯兰教派的妇女往往希望生育更多孩子。为了帮助设计和加强生育控制方案，应该认真考虑这些因素。
