The Effect of Midwife’s Premarital Counseling on Women’s Attitude towards Fertility and Childbearing: A Quasi-experimental Study

Background & aim: Considering fertility rate declining trend in Iran, several solutions have been proposed to increase the population, one of which is premarital counseling.This research aimed to evaluate the effect of premarital counseling on women's attitude toward fertility and childbearing.Methods: This Quasi-experimental study with one-group pretest-posttest design was conducted in Ardabil from March to May 2023. The study population consisted of women referred to the premarital counseling center. 111 participants entered the study by convenience sampling based on inclusion criteria. The counselling sessions were organized as 90-minute face-to-face sessions held by an experienced counselor midwife. Data were collected by a demographic questionnaire and the Attitudes to Fertility and Childbearing Scale (AFCS). The questionnaire was completed before and two weeks after the counseling. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 15 using statistical tests including chi-square, and paired t-test.Results: The average age of the women was 23.09±7.12 years, and that of their future husbands was 28.18±6.12 years. The total score of attitudes toward fertility and childbearing increased significantly from 63.55±6.10 before counseling to 67.19±8.40 after counseling (p=0.001).Conclusion: Premarital counseling improved attitude towards fertility and childbearing. Counseling in a field by midwives affects the awareness of couples about fertility and could help the population growth and the health of future generations.

The Effect of Midwife’s Premarital Counseling on Women’s Attitude towards Fertility and Childbearing: A Quasi-experimental Study Keywords:

Reproductive behavior , Marriage , Counseling , Fertility Attitude , Population growth