Relationship of Accountability and Religious Orientation With Childbearing Intention in Women Referred to Comprehensive Health Centers in Yasouj, Iran

Childbearing is important for the increase of population; for countries where fertility rate is low, it is important for sustainable development. The present study aims to evaluate the relationship of accountability and religious orientation with childbearing intention in women referred to comprehensive health centers in Yasouj, Iran. 

Materials & Methods:

This descriptive and correlational study was conducted in 2019-2020 on 240 fertile married women aged 18-45 years referred to comprehensive health centers in Yasouj city, who were selected by a continuous sampling method. Inclusion criteria were no debilitating diseases, mental illnesses, or contraindication for pregnancy. A sociodemographic form, Harrison-Goff Accountability Scale, and Golriz and Baraheni’s Religious Attitude Scale were used to collect data. Data analysis was done in SPSS software, version 20 using chi-square test, independent t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. P<0.05 was statistically significant.

There was a negative and significant relationship between accountability and childbearing intention (P=0.036); the intention to have children was significantly lower in women with a higher accountability score. Religious orientation and its two dimensions (intrinsic and extrinsic orientation) had no significant relationship with childbearing intention. Age (P=0.001), length of marriage (P=0.001), and number of male children (P=0.011) had significant correlation with childbearing intention.

In Yasuj city, the fertile women’s intention to have children decreases with the increase in their responsibilities, age, length of marriage, and number of male children. Therefore, it is recommended that these women be encouraged to have children at a younger age. It may be possible to encourage women with higher accountability to have children by teaching childbearing skills to them. Further studies are needed in this field.