A cross-sectional study of 1,600 married people in Mazandaran Province, Iran, has found that men and women differ measurably in their attitudes toward childbearing, and that the factors shaping those attitudes differ by gender. The research, published in BMC Public Health, surveyed 800 women and 800 men recruited from healthcare centers between March 2024 and February 2025 using multistage sampling. Participants completed a demographic checklist along with validated instruments measuring attitudes toward childbearing, spiritual health, and socioeconomic status.
On the Attitude Toward Childbearing Questionnaire, men scored slightly higher than women, with mean scores of 73.85 and 71.77 respectively. The mean difference was -2.08 points, with a 95% confidence interval of -3.47 to -0.68 and a p-value of 0.003, indicating a statistically significant but modest gap between the sexes. The multivariate regression analysis revealed a striking asymmetry in what predicts attitudes.
For women, age, duration of marriage, number of children, spirituality, and economic status emerged as strong independent predictors of childbearing attitudes. For men, only education level, number of children, and spirituality served as independent predictors. The prominence of spirituality in both models suggests that psychosocial dimensions may matter alongside the demographic and economic factors more commonly emphasized in fertility research.
Economic status appeared as a predictor for women but not men in this dataset, while education mattered only in the male model, hinting that the pathways shaping reproductive attitudes may operate differently for each partner in a marriage. The study's design imposes important limits on interpretation. As a cross-sectional analysis, it captures attitudes at a single point in time and cannot establish causal relationships.
The authors themselves recommend longitudinal studies to clarify whether the identified associations hold over time and in which direction they run. Because participants were recruited through healthcare centers, the sample may not represent couples who do not engage with these services, a common constraint in community-based survey research. The findings therefore describe attitudes among married people who attended these facilities in one northern Iranian province during a defined twelve-month window, rather than the national population.
The researchers conclude that demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial characteristics are associated with childbearing attitudes among married couples, and they suggest the results could inform future research and interventions aimed at understanding those attitudes.
Subject of Research: Factors associated with childbearing attitudes among married couples in Mazandaran Province, Iran
Article Title: Childbearing attitudes and associated factors among married couples in Mazandaran Province, Iran: a cross-sectional study
Article References: AliAghdami, L., Nasiri-Amiri, F., Nikbakht, H.-A., Shafizadeh, Z., Adib-Rad, H., Panbezari, F. F., Shaeri, S., Bagheri-Tirtashi, A., & Fili, R. (2026). Childbearing attitudes and associated factors among married couples in Mazandaran Province, Iran: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29564-7
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-29564-7
Keywords: childbearing attitudes, fertility, Iran, Mazandaran Province, cross-sectional study, married couples, spirituality, socioeconomic status, BMC Public Health, reproductive health, Childbearing, attitudes
News Source: Ophelia Keating. (October 28, 2026). Married couples in northern Iran show modest, gender-split attitudes toward having children. Scienmag.
