The role of individual factors in decision making for the first childbearing

Fertility depends on biological, social and cultural factors. Yet, controlled fertility depends on family contracts and the main decision makers for the childbearing are women. This study aimed to investigate the individual factors which may affect the process of decision making for the timing of the first child among women in Shahrood, Iran.
In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 300 women who were pregnant for the first time and attended the chosen health centers in Shahrood have been examined through multistage sampling. Research tools were demographic profile, the Schneider's Hope Scale and a quality of life questionnaire.
The mean age of study participants was 24.81 ±3.92 years. The age of women who were planning for their first child had a statistically significant direct correlation with the length of marriage and had a statistically significant inverse correlation with hopefulness, quality of life, and child sequence. Furthermore, in regression model, the presence of ‘age of marriage’ with a positive coefficient and ‘hopefulness’ and ‘quality of life’ with a negative coefficient were statistically significant.
The findings demonstrated that the age for childbearing has a stronger relation with age of marriage compared to other factors. Amongst other variables, which affect the process of decision making for the first childbearing were hopefulness and quality of life.