Fertility Motivations and Its Related Factors in Women of Reproductive Age Attended Health Centers in Sabzevar, Iran

Background & aim: The severe reduced fertility rate and growing increase of older population in Iran have led to economic and social consequences in the country. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the fertility motivations and some of its related factors in women of reproductive age referring to urban health centers. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 450 women. The population consisted of fertile women within the age range of 18- 35 years referring to urban health centers of Sabzevar, Iran in 2016, who were selected by cluster sampling. Data collection tools included demographic and Miller’s Childbearing Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS (version 22) using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test, Spearman correlation test, the Kruskal Wallis, and regression test. Results: The means of positive and negative fertility motivation were 22.64±0.33 and 17.1±3.85, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between positive fertility motivation with educational level (P=0.01), as well as negative fertility motivation with income level (P=0.001). Moreover, positive fertility motivation correlate positively with age (P=0.01), number of pregnancies, childbirth and children (P=0.001). There was a significant relationship among child gender, accommodation, and spouse occupation (P=0.01). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that factors including age, educational level, number of pregnancies and children, income level, spouse occupation and accommodation can affect fertility motivation. It is suggested that population policies can increase fertility rate by enhancing fertility motivations.