The Duration of Couples' Childlessness: An Analysis of Differences and Determinants

A basic factor in the reduction of fertility levels is delayed fertility. This research was carried out in Khorramabad, Lorestan Province, Iran.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 535 married women aged 15-49 years in Khorramabad. The data were collected face-to-face through a cross-sectional survey in 2020 using a researcher-made questionnaire between September and December 2019. This study used the Kaplan-Meier test to determine the childlessness survival time. A logistic parametric model with the gamma shared frailty distributions was employed to analyze its determinants.

The mean of childlessness survival time was 31.76 months, with a median of 24 months. Women in the age group of 15 to 30 years, women with university education, women who married at the age of less than 25 years, and women with a higher sense of socioeconomic insecurity had a longer childlessness survival time (P<0.05).

Childlessness was evaluated as low in Khorramabad. Only 2% of the women remained childless after 10 years of marriage.