Informal Supports and Childbearing Desire in low fertility context: study Nowshahr and Chalous cities

With the reduction of fertility to below-replacement level and increasing the challenges and conflicts between the interests and attitudes of individuals and families, the informal support has significant impact in removing childbearing barriers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of informal support on desire to have children using social support theory. The statistical population of the study is women with a wife and at least one child aged under five years in Nowshahr and Chalous cities. Data were collected by conducting a survey among 362 women. The findings show that 47% of mothers desire to have another child. The findings of our multivariate analysis indicate that such supportive variables as the amount of assistance received by the spouse in housework, receiving assistance in housework from the parent-in-law and frequency of face-to-face communication with parents -in-law have increased the desire of mothers to have another child . In addition, the results in relation to supportive indicators indicate that the potential support index did not have a significant relationship with the desire to have more children, but receiving high levels of instrumental support had an impact on increasing the desire to have another child. In general, the relationship between social support theory and childbearing can be partially confirmed. The results of supportive variables affecting the desire to have another child.