INVESTIGATING THE CAUSES OF RELUCTANCE TO HAVE CHILDREN IN MARRIED COUPLES WITHOUT CHILDREN IN ILAM PROVINCE IN 2022: A SURVEY STUDY

Disinterest in having children, followed by a decrease in the total fertility rate in recent years, has been the common experience of developed countries and many developing countries, including Iran. Knowing the reasons for disinterest in having children is important for an effective population policy. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify the causes of disinterest in having children among married women in the Ilam province.

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in Ilam province in 2022. Families without children who did not want to have children were identified through the Integrated health system (SIB) and included in the study. The data was collected from the mothers using a questionnaire. SPSS software version 22.0 was used to analyze data. Independent t-test was used to compare the means, and chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to check the relationship between qualitative variables.

Seven hundred fifty-two households were investigated. The average age in women was 26.6 ± 5.2 years and 31.1 ± 4.8 years in men. The average age of marriage of men and women was 23.3 ± 0.5 years and 27.8 ± 4.6 years, respectively, and the average married life period was 3.2 ± 1.6 years. Worrying about not providing for the child's future with 67.7%, increasing economic problems in life with 60.50%, and not having enough income with 58% were the most important reasons mentioned by mothers for not wanting to have children. A statistically significant relationship was observed between urban and rural residence status with mental and psychological readiness for childbearing (p<0.01) and interference of childbearing with social responsibilities (p<0.01).

The results show that economic issues are one of the most important concerns for making decisions about having children. Along with effective incentive policies, especially in financial terms, modeling the best practices for increasing childbearing in other countries will be an effective strategy.