Journal of Semnan University of Medical Sciences
Image Credit:Koomesh
Outline
Challenges and Barriers to Childbearing Among Faculty Members of Tehran University of Medical Sciences: A Qualitative Study
Authors
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Considering the privileged position of faculty members in society and their significant role in childbearing, the present study investigated the challenges of childbearing among the faculty members of medical sciences universities.
Methods: This research was conducted using a qualitative approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 Tehran University of Medical Sciences faculty members. The data was analyzed using the qualitative content analysis technique (conventional type) based on the steps suggested by Granheim and Volandman in the MAXQDA-2018 software.
Results: After data analysis, 34 subcategories and 9 categories including social challenges (weakness of family support, increased social problems, insufficient social protection, problematic education, insufficient social capital, negative effect of media), cultural challenges (concerning the future of children, despair about the future, concern about marital relations, late fertility, the expiration of the grand narratives, the weakening of traditional and religious beliefs and opinions, individualism, hedonism, having a perfectionist approach towards children, weakening the normative pressure to have children), economic challenges (problems related to housing, rising living costs, back-breaking costs of having children, macroeconomic problems, inadequate income), political challenges (insufficient political trust, political changes), challenges of laws and policies (lack of support by laws, regulations and university guidelines, weak laws and policies in the field of childbearing), environmental challenges, job-related challenges (multiple job duties, lack of job stability), health challenges, and the challenges of emerging new issues were identified.
Conclusion: According to the study results, childbearing requires prerequisites in various social-cultural, economic-occupational, and political-legal fields.
Highlights
References
- 1.Hashemzadeh M, Shariati M, Mohammad Nazari A, Keramat A. Childbearing intention and its associated factors: A systematic review. Nurs Open. 2021;8(5):2354-68. [PubMed ID:33705606]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC8363403]. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.849.
- 2.Safdari-Dehcheshmeh F, Noroozi M, Taleghani F, Memar S. Factors Influencing the Delay in Childbearing: A Narrative Review. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2023;28(1):10-9. [PubMed ID:37250942]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC10215553]. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_65_22.
- 3.Soderberg M, Lundgren I, Christensson K, Hildingsson I. Attitudes toward fertility and childbearing scale: an assessment of a new instrument for women who are not yet mothers in Sweden. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2013;13:197. [PubMed ID:24165014]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC4231394]. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-13-197.
- 4.Ghahremani F, Ahmadi Doulabi M, Eslami M. The correlation between marital satisfaction and childbearing characteristics in women in Tehran. Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2019;33(5). [PubMed ID:31352430]. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2019-0018.
- 5.Group ECW. Fertility and ageing. Hum Reprod Update. 2005;11(3):261-76. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmi006.
- 6.Mehri N, Messkoub M, Kunkel S. Trends, Determinants and the Implications of Population Aging in Iran. Ageing Int. 2020;45(4):327-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-020-09364-z.
- 7.Aghajanian A, Thompson V. Household Size and Structure in Iran: 1976-2006. Open Fam Stud J. 2013;5(1):1-9. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874922401305010001.
- 8.Mehrolhassani MH, Mirzaei S, Poorhoseini SS, Oroomiei N. Finding the reasons of decrease in the rate of population growth in Iran using causal layered analysis (CLA) method. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2019;33:92. [PubMed ID:31696086]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC6825379]. https://doi.org/10.34171/mjiri.33.92.
- 9.Moeini B, Taheri M, Shirahmadi S, Otogara M. Declining desire for childbearing in couples with higher education: A qualitative study in Iran. J PopulSoc Stud. 2021;29:604-21.
- 10.Faghani Aghoozi M, Kariman N, Faiazi S, Joze Mohtashami M, Amerian M. Factors Affecting the First Childbearing Decision in Iranian Males. J Holistic Nurs Midwifery. 2020:27-34. https://doi.org/10.32598/jhnm.30.1.5.
- 11.Bagi, Milad, Sadeghi, Rasoul, Hatami A. [Fertility intentions in Iran: Determinants and limitations]. Strategic Stud Culture. 2022;1(4):59-80. Persian. https://doi.org/10.22083/scsj.2022.149113.
- 12.Rahnama A, Roozbeh N, Salimi Asl A, Kazemi Gerashi Z, Abbaszadeh M, Dabiri F. Factors Related to Childbearing in Iran: A Systematic Review. J Preventive Med. 2022;9(1):6-17. https://doi.org/10.32598/jpm.9.1.4.
- 13.Jahanbakhshi A, Niknami M, Pakseresht S, Roushan ZA, Shirzad Chenari S. Childbearing Tendency and Related Factors Among Married Women in Rasht City, north of Iran. J Holistic Nurs Midwifery. 2023;33(3):230-7. https://doi.org/10.32598/jhnm.33.3.2496.
- 14.Kavehfarsani Z, Raeissi P. [Investigating Childbearing Tendency and Related Factors Among Married Youth in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province]. Strategic Stud Youth Sports. 2024:-. Persian. https://doi.org/10.22034/ssys.2024.3283.3398.
- 15.Nyoni SP, Chihoho TA, Nyoni T. Projection of total fertility rate (TFR) in Iran. Int Res J Innovations Engin Technol. 2021;5(8):244.
- 16.Aitken RJ. The changing tide of human fertility. Hum Reprod. 2022;37(4):629-38. [PubMed ID:35079808]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC8977063]. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deac011.
- 17.Noroozi M, Ahmadi S, Armoon B, Jorjoran Shushtari Z, Sharhani A, Ahounbar E, et al. Social determinants associated with risky sexual behaviors among men who inject drugs in Kermanshah, Western Iran. J Substance Use. 2018;23(6):591-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2018.1459905.
- 18.Keshavarz Z, Abbasi-Shavazi MJ, Ebadi A. [Factors affecting on fertility behavior from the perspective of professionals: A qualitative study]. Koomesh. 2019;21(1):155-63. Persian.
- 19.Haghdoost AA, Safari-Faramani R, Baneshi MR, Dehnavieh R, Dehghan M. Exploring perceptions of policymakers about main strategies to enhance fertility rate: A qualitative study in Iran. Electron Physician. 2017;9(10):5568-77. [PubMed ID:29238499]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC5718863]. https://doi.org/10.19082/5568.
- 20.Lotfi R, Rajabi Naeeni MRN, Rezaei N, Farid M, Tizvir A. Desired Numbers of Children, Fertility Preferences and Related Factors among Couples Who Referred to Pre-Marriage Counseling in Alborz Province, Iran. Int J Fertil Steril. 2017;11(3):211-9. [PubMed ID:28868844]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC5582150]. https://doi.org/10.22074/ijfs.2017.5010.
- 21.Kiyanpour N, Rahman Zadeh SA, Hashem Zehi N. [Factors affecting childbearing with an emphasis on virtual social networks]. Women Fam Cultural-Educ. 2023;18(64). Persian.
- 22.Golovina K, Jokela M. Personal and social worries associated with the likelihood of having children. Popul Dev Rev. 2024;50(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12646.
- 23.Lampridis E, Papastylianou D. Prosocial behavioural tendencies and orientation towards individualism–collectivism of Greek young adults. Int J Adolescence Youth. 2014;22(3):268-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2014.890114.
- 24.Nejad FN, Mohammadi Gharehghani MA, Ahmadi S. Collective and individual rationality dilemma and the failure of anti-Covid-19 policies: Why some people don't wear masks? Int J Surg. 2022;105:106866. [PubMed ID:36044957]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC9420078]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106866.
- 25.Huus K, Granlund M, Bornman J, Lygnegard F. Human rights of children with intellectual disabilities: comparing self-ratings and proxy ratings. Child Care Health Dev. 2015;41(6):1010-7. [PubMed ID:25809836]. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12244.
- 26.Hertz-Picciotto I, Sass JB, Engel S, Bennett DH, Bradman A, Eskenazi B, et al. Organophosphate exposures during pregnancy and child neurodevelopment: Recommendations for essential policy reforms. PLoS Med. 2018;15(10):e1002671. [PubMed ID:30356230]. [PubMed Central ID:PMC6200179]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002671.
- 27.Tavousi M, Motlagh ME, Eslami M, Haerimehrizi A, Hashemi A, Montazeri A. Fertility desire among Iranians living in Tehran: reasons for desire and disinterest. Payesh (Health Monitor) J. 2016;15(6):663-8. Persian.
Copyright
© 2025, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
Similar Articles
It Bothers Me to Remember My Pregnancy: Lived Experiences of Female Faculty Members at Type 3 University in Iran on Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Phenomenological Study
Kolivand H, Bigdeli Shamloo MB, Ashrafizadeh H, Rashidi N. It Bothers Me to Remember My Pregnancy: Lived Experiences of Female Faculty Members at Type 3 University in Iran on Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Phenomenological Study. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2025;19(1):e156118. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/ijpbs-156118
How Can Faculty Members Produce More Articles?
Mehranfard S, Pelarak F, Kousari R, Kalani L. How Can Faculty Members Produce More Articles?. J Adv Immunopharmacol. 2022;2(1):e123315. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/tms-123315
Faculty viewpoints about factors influencing research performance: A qualitative study in Semnan University of Medical Sciences
Ziari A, Ghods AA, rashidypour A, Bozorgi H, Babamohamadi H. Faculty viewpoints about factors influencing research performance: A qualitative study in Semnan University of Medical Sciences. koomesh. 2017;19(1):e151327. doi:
Viewpoints of faculty members of Semnan University of Medical Sciences about research barriers
Sotodeh Asl N, Ghorbani R, Rashidy-Pour AL. Viewpoints of faculty members of Semnan University of Medical Sciences about research barriers. koomesh. 2014;16(1):e151273. doi:
A survey on barriers in performing research activities from the perspective of faculty members of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, 2011
Sadeghi S, Tohidnia M, Heydarheydari S, Golchinnia N, Sohrabi N. A survey on barriers in performing research activities from the perspective of faculty members of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, 2011. J Clin Res Paramed Sci. 2014;2(4):e82274. doi:
- Scopus by DOI: 0
Last Update: 2 weeks ago
- Scopus by Title: 0
Last Update: 2 weeks ago
- Scopus by Title (Ref): 0
Last Update: 2 weeks ago
- CrossRef: 0
Last Update: 6 days ago
- OpenAlex: 0
Last Update: 1 day ago
- OpenCitations: 0
Last Update: 4 days ago
