Authors
Abstract
Background and Purpose: Epidemiologists have always been sought to discover factors influencing populations so that they can control population growth. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship of socioeconomic and demographic factors with fertility.
Methods and Materials: This deh1ive analytical study was conducted in two stages in 2003 on 1300 families in the Northwestern province of Azarbaijan-Gharbi in Iran. The study data were collected through questionnaires and interview. The relationship between woman's age marital age marital duration sexual preference number of wanted children stillbirth child death education and employment couples age difference and fertility was determined using Pearson's correlation coefficient stepwise multiple linear regression and ANCOVA in SPSS.
Results: Mean age of the participants was 32.61±7.97 and mean live birth was 2.39±1.82. In the regression model child death number of wanted children sexual preference marital duration with positive coefficients and couples education with negative coefficients emerged. Fertility in marriages under 15 years (4.20±2.43) was significantly higher than other marital age groups. Fertility was higher in illiterate or low-education women. Mean wanted child in women of younger than 20 years old and women of 40-49 years of age were 2.9±0.56 and 3.37±0.84 respectively.
Conclusion: As the results suggest child death sexual preference desire to bear more infants and marriage before the age of 15 are associated with higher fertility rates. Illiterate or Low-education women are more fertile than other educational groups. Mean wanted children in women of under 20 years of age is higher than the current fertility rate (2.39).
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