Adil Halbeen A, Al-Tawil Namir
Community Medicine, Kurdistan Higher Council of Medical Specialties, Erbil, IRQ.
Community Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, IRQ.
Cureus. 2024 Nov 18;16(11):e73890. doi: 10.7759/cureus.73890. eCollection 2024 Nov.
The family size plays an important role in fulfilling the primary needs of each family member and providing a quality life for them. This research studies the association of family size with various socioeconomic and demographic factors and the lifetime fertility patterns of previous decades.
This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Maternity Teaching Hospital in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The data was collected from December 11, 2023, to April 15, 2024, after the ethics committee of the Kurdistan Higher Council for Medical Specialties approved the proposal. A convenience sample of 400 women aged 45-74 years who had completed their families were directly interviewed. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26 (Released 2019; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States).
The prevalence of large family size (seven members and above) was 78.5%. The lifetime fertility rate of the women was 6.78 live births per woman. Large family size is significantly (p < 0.001) associated with age <18 years at marriage, short birth spacing interval, and unplanned pregnancies. The majority (91.7%) of the participants were grand multipara. The Cesarean section (CS) rate was 7.3%, 60.2% of the births were delivered at home, and 46.6% of the live births were delivered with a preceding birth interval of less than two years. The majority (82.2%) of the pregnancies were unplanned.
Large family size is highly prevalent among women who have completed their families in Erbil. Many demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with large family sizes, such as rural residency, age <18 years at marriage, low socioeconomic status (SES), short birth spacing interval, and unplanned pregnancies. For a more desired family size, it is recommended that young females be empowered by encouraging their education and providing occupation opportunities. In addition to that, prohibiting early marriage and providing/strengthening premarital programs focusing on the importance of family planning including birth spacing and utilizing contraceptive methods properly play a great role.
家庭规模在满足每个家庭成员的基本需求以及为他们提供优质生活方面发挥着重要作用。本研究探讨家庭规模与各种社会经济和人口因素之间的关联，以及过去几十年的终身生育模式。
这项横断面研究在伊拉克库尔德斯坦地区埃尔比勒的妇产教学医院开展。在库尔德斯坦医学专业高级委员会伦理委员会批准该提案后，于2023年12月11日至2024年4月15日收集数据。对400名年龄在45 - 74岁且已完成生育的女性进行便利抽样并直接访谈。使用IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows 26版（2019年发布；IBM公司，美国纽约州阿蒙克）对数据进行分析。
大家庭规模（七口及以上）的患病率为78.5%。这些女性的终身生育率为每名妇女6.78次活产。大家庭规模与结婚年龄<18岁、生育间隔短以及意外怀孕显著相关（p < 0.001）。大多数参与者（91.7%）为经产妇。剖宫产率为7.3%，60.2%的分娩在家中进行，46.6%的活产分娩间隔时间少于两年。大多数怀孕（82.2%）是意外怀孕。
在埃尔比勒已完成生育的女性中，大家庭规模非常普遍。许多人口和社会经济因素与大家庭规模相关，如农村居住、结婚年龄<18岁、社会经济地位低、生育间隔短以及意外怀孕。为了实现更理想的家庭规模，建议通过鼓励年轻女性接受教育并提供职业机会来增强她们的能力。此外，禁止早婚并提供/加强婚前项目，重点关注计划生育的重要性，包括生育间隔和正确使用避孕方法，这将发挥重要作用。
