Relationship between Childbearing Motivations and Women Reproductive Empowerment: A Correlational Study

Background and purpose: Female reproductive empowerment refers to the ability and rights to make free decisions in reproductive activities such as number of children and birth intervals. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between childbearing motivations and women reproductive empowerment. In this descriptive-correlational study, 810 women living in both urban (n=500) and rural (n= 310) areas participated. They were selected via two stage cluster sampling in Sari healthcare centers, 2017. Data were collected using a demographic-reproductive characteristics checklist, the Childbearing Questionnaire (CBQ), and Women's Empowerment Questionnaire. Data analysis was done applying independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and linear regression. There was no significant association in the mean score for women reproductive empowerment in urban and rural areas (91.65± 12.86, 91.46±13.14, respectively, P= 0.593). The present study showed that women reproductive empowerment was directly associated with positive dimension of childbearing motivations (β=0.13, P <0.001) while it was inversely associated with negative dimension of childbearing motivations (β= -0.30, P <0.001). Also, women employment status (β=0.11, P= 0.003), husband's educational background (β=0.13, P= 0.029), and age of the last child (β= -0.07, P= 0.021) were amongst the factors affecting women reproductive empowerment. Women reproductive empowerment is associated with diferent socio-economic factors among which husbands' educational level is believed to be highly effective. Therefore, appropriate planning on this issue is of great benefit in improving women reproductive empowerment.