Sociological study on the transformation of fertility and childbearing concept in Iran

Fertility and childbearing, in addition to the biological aspects, has always been regarded as a social phenomenon and, therefore, to understand the incident, values and beliefs, norms, and in short, the culture of any society should be scrutinized. Since the concept, condition, and value of childbearing is associated with cultural, social, political and economic dimensions, it has undergone various transformations during passage of time from past to present. The sociological approach of the current study investigated the evolution of the concept and value of fertility and childbearing in light of historical, social, cultural and economic upheavals. This study shows that the methods of rationalizing and legitimizing decisions about fertility and childbearing are defined and specified in the context of society. The rational for selecting the decisions is intermingled with social, cultural, economic, and political evolutions of the society like modernization, urbanization and the level of development in human communities. Today, fertility, childbearing and the number of children are not only connected with the interpretations of the individuals about the conditions and micro and macro subjective and objective factors surrounding them, but they are also linked with factors such as family income, the amount of time parents allocate to their children, quality of child nurturing and other family variables

evaluation of the historical importance of fertility and its reflection in ancient mythology

Myths are reflective of human concerns and needs during ancient times. By reviewing them, it turns out that many human problems today, have a historical background. Among the main themes of ancient mythologies, fertility and reproduction have various representations in ancient civilizations. The purpose of this paper was to review myths and common symbols of fertility and reproduction in ancient civilizations and evaluate the reasons of their continuous importance in different cultures. The data in this review study was obtained by scrutinizing the related literature. The gathered data indicated the multiplicity and variety of fertility symbols in ancient myths. Most ancient fertility symbols were inspired by the nature and some of them like earth and water were common in mythology of different civilizations. Therefore, the symbols consolidate the concept of conformity between human reproductive concerns and the nature's necessities

Embryo donation in Iranian legal system: a critical review

Recent developments and newly-discovered methods for infertility treatment including in vitro fertilization and third party reproduction raise many questions and challenges with different ethical, legal, sociological and psychological dimensions. In Islamic countries, despite great developments in using this technology, the questions concerned with recognition of IVF methods and third party reproduction and legalization of this method are still the challenging ones. The approach of a few Shiite clerics to this issue has facilitated the legalisation of infertility treatment in Iran. The Iranian Parliament, with reference to Shiite clerics' opinions [Fatwa], enacted the Act concerning Embryo Donation to Infertile Couples and its bylaw which can be considered as a successful example of legalization of third party reproduction in an Islamic country. The aforementioned Act permits embryo donation through artificial insemination from legally married couples to infertile couples. However, many of the legal aspects of this event are not specified in this Act and in many cases it added several uncertainties. This uncertainty, especially regarding the rights and duties of recipients and the child, causes important problems which generate more concerns. This article aimed to review the advantages and flaws of the Act. It is believed that the enactment of the aforementioned Act is an important step but an insufficient measure in this field. Important issues have been left unanswered and unclear in this Act which should be considered by legislators in any future revision of it

Attitudes about sex selection and sex preference in Iranian couples referred for sex selection technology

Gender preference is prevalent in some communities and using medical techniques to choose the baby's sex may cause the gender discrimination and gender imbalance in communities. Therefore, evaluating the gender preferences and attitudes towards using sex selection technologies seems to be necessary. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Avicenna Fertility Center. Participants were 100 women with one child who were referred for sex selection. Data were collected through self-developed questionnaires. The questions were designed by the researchers at the experts' panel. To determine the validity of the questionnaire, the viewpoints of professors specialized in these issues were obtained. The statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS software [Version 11.5], and p<0.05 was considered significant. Tendency toward the male was more than female sex [55.5% male, 15.5% female and 28.5% no tendency]. Majority of participants agreed with sex selection with medical reason and sex selection in order to balance the family. Women's level of education had positive effect on agreements to fetal sex selection with medical and non-medical reasons [p<0.001]. Although gender preferences were toward the male sex but this preference was not very strong. Most participants agreed with non-medical sex selection for balancing the sex composition of their children. It doesn't seem that non-medical sex selection for family balancing causes severe sex imbalance in Iran

Aspects of psychosocial development in infertile versus fertile men

Infertility is one of the most difficult life experiences that a couple might encounter. Infertility as a bio-psycho-social phenomenon, could influence all aspects of life. While paying special attention to the psychological aspects of infertility in couples; many studies have investigated the non-clinical aspects of infertility, however, they rarely have evaluated the psychosocial development of infertile versus fertile men. We aimed to study the effects of infertility on psychosocial development in men. In fact, we designed the study based on "Erikson's theory of psychosocial development". We focused on the relationship between psychosocial development and some self-conceived indices. For this purpose, we divided the participants volunteers into two groups of cases [80 infertile men] and controls [40 fertile men] and asked them to complete a 112 [questions questionnaire based on "self description"]. The statistical analysis was performed by SPSS [version 13] using independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and analysis of covariance. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Data analysis showed significant inter and intra group differences. Infertile and fertile groups showed significant differences in trust, autonomy, generativity and integrity stages [p<0.05]. Infertile intergroup analysis represents us to higher scores in positive than negative stages. Infertility as a phenomenon had its own effects on the psychosocial development of infertile men. However, good coping skills are powerful tools to manage these myriad of feelings surrounding infertile men

Prevalence of primary infertility in Iran in 2010

Infertility is one of the most significant medical, as well as social problems that affect psychological health of families and societies. Determining the prevalence of infertility is important for evaluating the potential of fertility. There are different reports on the prevalence of infertility in Iran, but the current research employs fertility history in order to provide an unbiased estimation of primary infertility. Data from a national survey of Iranian women aged 20-40 years was used in this study in year 2011. Totally, 1011 clusters were randomly selected according to post office codes, proportional to the population of the province. We evaluated the history of fertility as the basis for gathering information. Accordingly, we designed a questionnaire. Subsequently, we recruited and trained nurses and obstetricians to call on married women to fill the questionnaires. Primary infertility refers to a condition in which couples have not been able to conceive a child after one year of unprotected intercourse. In this research, we questioned 17187 women in 1011 clusters. The mean age of the women at the time of their marriage was 20.1, and that of their husbands was 25.4 years. The mean age of women at the time of their first pregnancy was 21.1. This research revealed the prevalence of primary infertility to be 20.2% in Iran. The prevalence of primary infertility in Iran seems to be higher than the world average. Therefore, it is crucially important to support the large number of couples who face this problem

Specialists' attitude toward appropriate number of transferable embryos in assisted reproductive technology in Iran

In recent years, the high likelihood of the implantation of transferred embryos has led to an increase in the number of multiple pregnancies and consequently an increased risk of complications in fetuses and mothers. Since the aim of infertility treatment is the birth of a healthy child while preserving the mother's health, therefore, attempts should be made to avoid multiple pregnancies as much as possible besides maintaining the women's chance of pregnancy by transferring an appropriate number of embryos. The population under study consisted of specialists [gynecologists and embryologists] who worked in ART clinics across the country and had attended an infertility congress in Tehran in 2008. The devised questionnaire enquired about the infertility specialists' attitude towards the appropriate number of transferable embryos. The questions were designed on a Likert scale of strongly agree, agree, indifferent, disagree and strongly disagree. The scores of the questionnaire ranged from 0-60 which were later scaled up to 100 for ease of data analysis. Accordingly, scores below 50 were considered as "negative", 50-75 "moderate" and greater than 75 as "positive". Overall, 9.9% of the specialists gained a score less than 50 [negative view], 67.3% between 50-75 [moderate] and 22.8% greater than 75 [positive view]. The infertility specialists in Iran are relatively reluctant to transfer a high number of embryos for infertility treatments

Study of body image in fertile and infertile men

Body Image as a multidimensional entity is related to both physical and psychological aspects of the image one has of his or her own body. Lack/absence of an acceptable body image is one of the reasons of mental distress in infertile individuals. In this study, an equal number [No=120] of fertile and infertile men attending Avicenna Infertility Clinic [AIC] were enrolled. The participants were compared in regard to body image variables based on the "Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire [MBSRQ]" consisting of 10 subscales. Data was analyzed by SPSS, version 11.5, using Chi square and independent t-tests. Fertile men had a more positive body image as compared to infertile individuals. Significant statistical differences were observed when body image subscales were compared in both groups; in other words appearance evaluation, appearance orientation, Novy, health evaluation, health orientation, illness orientation, body satisfaction, overweight preoccupation and self-classified weight showed differences, while no significant difference was observed in regard to fitness orientation. It seems that the ability and efficiency of body image is affected by infertility leading to dissatisfaction of one's body image