Desired Family Size and Its Associated Factors among Mothers Attending Primary Healthcare Centers

Abstract

Background: Family planning allows women to decide on their family size. Desired family size is defined as the number of children parents would like to have if there are no subjective or economic issues involved in regulating fertility. Objective: The study aimed to determine the desired family size and its associated factors among mothers in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 404 women who visited primary healthcare centers between July and September 2021. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. JMP Pro software version 14.3.1 was utilized to analyze variables, P-value <0.05 was declared as significant. Results: Four (44.3%) and five (33.4%) children were the preferable numbers of children families had. The number of years for birth spacing of more than half the participants was 1–2 years (52.0%), followed by 3–4 (33.7%). Most of the decisions to have a kid were made by husbands (31.9%), followed by influences of culture (19.6%), family income (16.3%), relatives (mother, sisters, mother in low) (12.6%), and religious (9.7%). The mothers were less likely to be involved in decision-making to have a child (22.5%). The desired family size was significantly increased with the age years of mothers and early marriage, living in urban areas, and lower level of education. Conclusion: Four and five are the preferable number of children and contributed to with increasing age years of mothers and early marriage, living in urban areas, and lower level of education.