FACTORS AFFECTING CHILDBEARING IN SINGLE-CHILD AND MULTIPLE-CHILDREN MOTHERS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Iran is one of the countries experiencing a sharp decrease in fertility. The present study aimed to determine and compare the factors affecting childbearing in single-child and multiple children mothers.

In this descriptive study with a cross-sectional-comparative design, 200 married women with medical records in the health center were randomly selected and given into two groups. The first group included mothers with one child over four years of age who did not decide on the subsequent pregnancy, and the second group comprised mothers with two or more children. The data collection tool was a demographic information questionnaire and a fertility pattern questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS ver.20 software using independent t-test and Chi-square test.

From 200 mothers who entered the study, 97 had one child, and the other 103 had two or more children. The mean age was 27.47±5.55 years for the first group and 4.65±4. 32.34 years for the second group, and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.000). Comparison of the factors affecting fertility in the two groups showed that the most significant difference was in the mean score of government support and welfare facilities, mothers' employment, high costs and economic problems, and spouses' opposition to childbearing (p=0.000).

According to the results, economic issues were among the first factors affecting childbearing. It seems that it is impossible to take steps to increase childbearing and prevent a single-digit growth rate by advertising alone. In this regard, economic and social factors should be considered, and perhaps the economic support of families would be helpful.