Desire to Limit Childbearing and Its Associated Factors Among Married Women: Findings From A Cross-Sectional Survey In Karachi, Pakistan 

Abstract

Background: Increasing population growth and uneven distribution of scarce resources is a hurdle for country’s economic growth. Hence, we aim to determine desire to limit child bearing and factors associated with limiting child bearing among currently married women aged 15 to 49 years residing in squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods:A multistage cluster, cross sectional survey was conducted in randomly selected households of urban squatter settlements of Karachi. A total of 4,485 married, non-pregnant, were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and adapted Operational framework of “Pullum 1980” to determine potential factors associated with limiting family size. Outcome of interest was defined as a desire to limit childbearing among married women of reproductive age group. Multivariable regression was performed using SPSS version 13.0. Results:The median age of participants was 30 years (IQR 25-35 years) and the median number of living children was 3 (IQR 2-4). Of 4485 women, 2109 (47%) expressed desire to limit childbearing in future. Multivariable logistic regression showed that women of 18 to 27 years and 28 to 37 years (AOR 0.25, 95% CI: 0.19-0.39 and AOR 0.39, 95% CI: 0.22-0.47 respectively), illiterate (AOR 0.34, 95% CI: 0.21-0.53), and low wealth quintile (AOR 0.41, 95% CI: 0.25-0.57), not using any contraceptive method (AOR 0.53, 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.63), sons less than daughters (AOR 0.74, 95% CI: 0.62-0.87), were less likely to limit childbearing. Women who practiced autonomy (AOR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.08-1.41) and perceived ideal family size as ≤ 2 children (AOR 2.62, 95% CI: 2.07-3.32) were more likely to limit childbearing.Conclusion:Age, education, low wealth quintile, having sons, autonomy and usage of contraceptives were determining factors of women’s desire for limiting childbearing. Behavior modification strategies should be devised to modify fertility intentions among women to increase contraceptive use and fertility decline.

Determinants of fertility desire among reproductive age married/cohabiting women in Ethiopia; an analysis of PMA-ET 2021 data

“…Fertility desire can be in uenced by several factors that operate at the societal and individual levels. At the societal level, the desire for fertility is often driven by social and cultural pressures and the desire to maintain the stability of society [24,25], such as strong cultural preferences for large families [24,26] and the desire for boys over girls [27][28][29][30]. At the individual level, characteristics including age [31,32], number of living children [33,34], marital status, wealth, education level [35][36][37][38][39], and place of residence [40][41][42] and others [35,36] are associated with fertility desire.…”