The Association of Religious Beliefs with Reproductive Behaviors in Reproductive Aged Women: A Systematic Review

Fertility behaviors are one of the worrisome issues in countries with below-replacement fertility rates. In addition to the socioeconomic dimensions affecting fertility rate reduction, the relationship of other components such as religion has also been considered. However, its association with reproductive behavior has not been clearly defined yet. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the association of religious beliefs with reproductive behaviors in reproductive-aged women.

In this systematic review, databases, and search engines including Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, Scopus, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar were searched spanning from 2008 to 2023. The review has been limited to Persian and English published articles. The Persian and English keywords consisted of religion, belief, women, reproductive behaviors, and fertility. STROBE statement was selected for the quality assessment.

27 studies matched the inclusion criteria. All the included studies indicated the association of religious beliefs with one or more components related to fertility behaviors. For instance, religious beliefs were directly associated with responsibility, use of preventive methods, unwanted pregnancy, sexual awareness, tendency to fertility, attitude towards the desired number of children, and egg donation methods. Also, Islamic attitudes have a protective role against inappropriate reproductive health behaviors for Muslims.

The results showed that fertility behaviors are directly related to religious beliefs. Religiosity is one of the factors that can have a positive role in people's attitudes toward fertility behavior, which can increase the population trend in different ethnicities. Therefore, the component of religion should be considered in fertility policies. However, more studies with larger sample sizes need to be conducted in this field.