Journal des soins de santé des femmes
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Factors Influencing Desired Family Size among Residents of Assela Town

Dibaba B and Mitike G

Background: Ethiopia, like most Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, is experiencing rapid population growth. The rapid growth prevents national development effort and affects maternal and child health. Different factors influence family size at different levels in different Societies. This Study assessed factors affecting family size preferences in Assela town where data was not available in this regard.
Objective: To determine desired family size and identify factors influencing family size among residents of Assela town, Ethiopia.
Methodology: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Assela town, between March 25 and April 4, 2013. A total of 428 residents were included in the study. The age of women ranged from 15 to 49 years and men above 15 years. The desired family size was determined using mean score. Respondents were asked to determine which factors were influential on their desired family size. Descriptive analysis, 95% CI and multiple linear regressions were used to see relationship between the independent variables and desired family size. After recoding the variables, logistic regression was used to see association between family size preference and predictor. Results: Mean desired family size for the study population was 3.8. The factors which had got higher magnitude and rank included household income and gender preference. In linear regression, statistically adjusting for the effects of socio-demographic variables, respondents who had primary education desired higher family size than respondents who had more than secondary education (B=2.04, 95% C1=1.33, 2.70) at P-value<0.01. Logistic regression shows, women who had good knowledge of fertility awareness method of contraception were found to be 1.7 times more likely to prefer small family size compared to women who had poor knowledge of fertility awareness method of contraception (AOR=1.71, 95% CI=1.08-2.72).
Conclusion: It is quite possible that increasing educational level and age at marriage might influence couples to desire lower family size. Women prefer small family size than their husbands. Educational level and knowledge of family planning affected family size preferences. Special effort to inform uneducated couples about knowledge of family planning should be focused. Fertility and family planning policies should aware of gender differences in family size preference and consider counseling couples about family size. In addition to quantitative research qualitative methods should be used to identify other factors influencing family size.