the role of social capital on unwillingness toward childbearing in reproductive-aged women

Context: although middle‑east is a region with high population growth, but in some countries such as iran,the population growth significantly decreased rapidly. social capital is an important factor in formattingthe positive willingness of childbearing among couples. social capital referred to resources that individualsaccess them through the personal relationships.aims: this study aimed to investigate the role of social capital on unwillingness toward childbearing inreproductive‑aged women referred to babol health care centers in 2018.setting and design: a cross‑sectional study in babol health centers, iran, in 2018.materials and methods: three hundred reproductive‑aged women 18–39 years with maximum of two children wererecruited through a systematic sampling method. demographic fertility characteristics form, miller’s childbearingmotivation questionnaire, onyx, and bullen social capital questionnaire were used for the data collection.statistical analysis used: descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean ± standard deviation, the pearsoncorrelation coefficient, and multiple regression were used for the data analysis.results: the most reasons of unwillingness for childbearing included “worrying about the health and safetyof my child,” (83%) “being responsible for a needy and demanding baby,” (78.8%) and “worrying whether iam raising my child the right way.” (77%) unwillingness to childbearing was associated with the factors suchas social capital (β = −0.259, p = 0.001), being employed (β = 0.207, p = 0.001), and well self‑evaluationof socioeconomic status (β = −0.187, p = 0.004) .conclusions: improving the current conditions of childbearing in the iranian society requires the involvementof policy‑makers in the various domains and levels of decision‑making at the family, community, andmacrolevels.