Iranian Biomedical Journal

Iranian Biomedical Journal

Attitudes of Pregnant Mothers Toward Determining the Sex of Their Children

Authors
Mahnaz Jazayeri
Narges Majidifard
Mohammad Amir Sharifabadi
Ramtin Akbari Jabali
10.61186/ibj.25th-11th-IACRTIMSS
Abstract
Introduction: Prenatal sex determination has historically attracted the attention of the medical community, demographers, economists, and parents for various reasons. Parental views on prenatal sex determination may be related to fertility rates, as changes in the intensity and nature of these preferences can affect birth rates. Additionally, prenatal sex determination can aid in the diagnosis and management of sex-linked genetic diseases. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the attitudes of pregnant women toward determining the sex of their children.

Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in selected centers in Isfahan Province. A total of 180 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria were randomly chosen, and demographic and gender attitude questionnaires were completed. The demographic questionnaire included age, education, family income status, number of pregnancies and children, and gender of the previous child. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics mean, standard deviation, percentage, and count. Inferential statistics, specifically chi-square test and logistic regression analysis, were conducted using SPSS version 25.

Results: The mean age of the mothers in the study was 28.21 ± 5.77 years. Among the participants, 109 (60.6% ) were homemakers, and 71 ( 39.4% ) were employed. Furthermore, 100 (55.6%) participants had a university education, while 80 (44.4%) had a non-university education. Economically, 29 (16.1%), 130 (72.2%), and 21 (11.7%) women were in good, average, and poor conditions, respectively. The occupation of the mothers (p = 0.011) and the gender of the previous child (p = 0.02) had a statistically significant impact on their preferred gender and gender attitudes. The study revealed that maternal occupation and the gender of the previous child had substantial influences on gender preference. Homemakers showed a greater preference for having sons. Education and economic status did not significantly impact gender preference. Mothers with daughters preferred sons for their next child, and vice versa. Age and number of children did not significantly influence gender preference. Overall, 77.8% of mothers had a gender preference, with 40.6% preferring boys and 37.2% preferring girls.

Conclusion and Discussion: Our findings suggest that gender preferences could influence birth rates and reduce maternal depression. Considering that gender affects fertility, we must identify people who are more gender-sensitive and provide training to correct their attitudes and reduce complications and problems during childbirth. Since this study involved 180 pregnant women, future research should include a larger sample size.



Keywords
Attitude
Child
mothers
Iranian Biomedical Journal
Volume 28, Special Issue-October 2024 - Serial Number 116
November and December 2024
Pages 303-303