Investigating the motivation of students of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences to have children

Childbearing motives are the primary driver of fertility behavior and an important part of fertility decision making. the aim of determining the motivation to have children of students of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences.

The present study was a cross-sectional study that was conducted on 200 eligible male and female students of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. The data collection tools in this study were personal information questionnaire, Miller's Fertility Preferences Questionnaire (1995) and Miller's Fertility Motivations Questionnaire (1995). The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) in two descriptive and analytical formats at a significance level of less than 5%.

A significant relationship was observed between the desired number of female children with the joy of pregnancy, birth and childhood, feeling of need and survival, stress of parents, fear of becoming a parent (p<0.01). The desired number of children had an inverse and significant relationship with the traditional view and care challenges, but it had a direct and significant relationship with the feeling of need and survival. The desired time of marriage until the birth of the first child (month) had a significant and inverse relationship with the negative motives of pregnancy (p<0.01).

With the increase of positive fertility motives in people, the desire to have children and the desired number of children increases and the desired distance between marriage and the birth of the first child decreases