Young Women and Men's Attitude towards Childbearing

Background & aim: Attitude is taken into account as the most important determinant of behavior. However, the present knowledge considering opinions of the youths on the verge of marriage is not sufficient. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the attitudes towards childbearing in women and men on the verge of marriage attending health centers in Mashhad, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 on 170 women and 100 men referring to the premarital counseling centers. The participants were selected through convenience sampling method. The data were collected using the Childbearing Attitudes Scale and analyzed by descriptive statistics and independent t-test by the SPSS. Results: The mean scores of attitudes to childbearing in women and men were 164.03±21.62 and 158.86±24.91, respectively, with no significant difference (P=0.11).  The mean desired number of children was 2.23±1.01 in women and 2.14±0.9 in men. There were significant differences between the attitudes of women and men in terms of the impacts of childbirth on women’s body shape (P=0.01), childbearing as one of the purposes of human creation (P=0.04), and the relationship between the number of children and their upbringing quality (P=0.002). A significant relationship was found between the attitudes and ideal number of children (P=0.001). Conclusion: Attitudes towards childbearing among young adults on the verge of marriage were not so favorable. Consequently, it is essential to implement comprehensive training programs in order to enhance the positive views both in women and men towards childbearing.