Objective: Determining the level of fertility awareness among women of reproductive age can contribute to improving reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to determine the level of fertility awareness and the factors affecting it among married women of reproductive age. Material and Methods: The study was a descriptive correlational study. The study included 363 married women of reproductive age. Data were collected through online survey using the participant information form and the Fertility Awareness Scale. Descriptive statistics such as number, percentage, mean and standard deviation, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation and Linear regression test were used in statistical analyses. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 34.86±7.65 years. Within the scope of the study, women's fertility awareness score was determined as 25.54±7.47, which is at a moderate level. A significant negative correlation was found between total fertility awareness score and age (r=-0.104, p<0.05), body mass index (r=- 0.112, p<0.05), and duration of marriage (r=-0.157, p<0.001). The woman's education at university or higher, using a modern family planning method, not exercising, and having three or more pregnancies are the predictors that explain 14.4% of the fertility awareness score. Conclusion: Fertility awareness is an important component of sexual and reproductive health. Addressing fertility awareness shows that interventions to increase fertility awareness targeting women with low education and economic levels and a high number of pregnancies are necessary to achieve sustainable development goals three and five.
Keywords: Awareness; fertility; reproductive; women
Amaç: Üreme çağındaki kadınlar arasında fertilite farkındalığının belirlenmesi, üreme sağlığı ve gebelik sonuçlarının iyileştirilmesine katkı sağlayabilir. Bu çalışma, üreme çağındaki evli kadınlarda fertilite farkındalığı ve etkileyen faktörlerin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışma, tanımlayıcı ilişkisel türdedir. Çalışmaya üreme çağında olan 363 evli kadın dâhil edilmiştir. Veriler, katılımcı bilgi formu ve Fertilite Farkındalığı Ölçeği kullanılarak çevrim içi anket yoluyla toplanmıştır. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde sayı, yüzde, ortalama ve standart sapma gibi tanımlayıcı istatistikler, bağımsız örneklem t-testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi, Pearson korelasyon ve Lineer regresyon testi kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Katılımcıların ortalama yaşı 34,86±7,65 yıldır. Çalışma kapsamında kadınların fertilite farkındalık puanı 25,54±7,47 olarak belirlenmiş olup, orta düzeydedir. Fertilite farkındalığı toplam puanı ile yaş (r=-0,104, p<0,05), beden kitle indeksi (r=-0,112, p<0,05) ve evlilik süresi (r=-0,157, p<0,001) arasında anlamlı negatif korelasyon bulunmuştur. Kadının üniversite ve üzeri eğitimi, modern aile planlaması yöntemi kullanması, egzersiz yapmaması ve 3 ve üzerinde gebeliğe sahip olması fertilite farkındalığı puanının %14,4'ünü açıklayan yordayıcılardır. Sonuç: Fertilite farkındalığı cinsel sağlık ve üreme sağlığının önemli bir bileşenidir. Fertilite farkındalığının ele alınması Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Hedefi 3 ve 5 hedeflerine ulaşmak için eğitim ve ekonomik düzeyi düşük, gebelik sayısı fazla olan kadınları hedef alan fertilite farkındalığını artırmaya yönelik müdahalelerin gerekli olduğunu göstermektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Farkındalık; fertilite; üreme; kadın
- Pedro J, Brandão T, Schmidt L, Costa ME, Martins MV. What do people know about fertility? A systematic review on fertility awareness and its associated factors. Ups J Med Sci. 2018;123(2):71-81. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Chan SL, Thumboo J, Boivin J, Saffari SE, Yin S, Yeo SR, et al. Effect of fertility health awareness strategies on fertility knowledge and childbearing in young married couples (FertStart): study protocol for an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type I multicentre three-arm parallel group open-label randomised clinical trial. BMJ Open. 2022;12(1):e051710. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Chawłowska E, Lipiak A, Krzysztoszek J, Krupa B, Staszewski R. Reproductive health literacy and fertility awareness among polish female students. Front Public Health. 2020;8:499. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Hammarberg K, Zosel R, Comoy C, Robertson S, Holden C, Deeks M, et al. Fertility-related knowledge and information-seeking behaviour among people of reproductive age: a qualitative study. Hum Fertil (Camb). 2017;20(2):88-95. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Kaplan E, Zeyneloğlu S. Doğurganlık bilinci ve infertilite açısından önemi. Vefikuluçay Yılmaz D, Güner Emül T, editörler. İnfertilite Hemşireliği. 1. Baskı. Ankara: Akademisyen Kitabevi; 2021. p.35-53.
- Nik Hazlina NH, Norhayati MN, Shaiful Bahari I, Nik Muhammad Arif NA. Worldwide prevalence, risk factors and psychological impact of infertility among women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2022;12(3):e057132. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Na Nakhon S, Limvorapitux P, Vichinsartvichai P. Knowledge regarding factors that influence fertility in Thai reproductive-age population living in urban area: a cross-sectional study. Clin Exp Reprod Med. 2018;45(1):38-43. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Shang Y, Zhou H, He R, Lu W. Dietary modification for reproductive health in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021;12:735954. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Mu Q, Hanson L, Hoelzle J, Fehring RJ. Young women's knowledge about fertility and their fertility health risk factors. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2019;48(2):153-62. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Conceição C, Pedro J, Martins MV. Effectiveness of a video intervention on fertility knowledge among university students: a randomised pre-test/post-test study. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2017;22(2):107-13. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- García D, Rodríguez A, Vassena R. Actions to increase knowledge about age-related fertility decline in women. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2018;23(5):371-8. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Mahey R, Gupta M, Kandpal S, Malhotra N, Vanamail P, Singh N, et al. Fertility awareness and knowledge among Indian women attending an infertility clinic: a cross-sectional study. BMC Womens Health. 2018;18(1):177. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Özşahin Z, Aksoy YD. Fertility Awareness Scale development study in Turkish women. European Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2022;49:102101. [Crossref]
- Lundsberg LS, Pal L, Gariepy AM, Xu X, Chu MC, Illuzzi JL. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding conception and fertility: a population-based survey among reproductive-age United States women. Fertil Steril. 2014;101(3):767-74. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS, Ullman JB. Using Multivariate Statistics. Vol. 6. 6th ed. Boston MA: Pearson; 2013.
- Harper J, Boivin J, O'Neill HC, Brian K, Dhingra J, Dugdale G, et al. The need to improve fertility awareness. Reprod Biomed Soc Online. 2017;4:18-20. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Akoku DA, Achombwom Vukugah T, Abena Tihnje M, Bigweh Nzubepie I. Childbearing intentions, fertility awareness knowledge and contraceptive use among female university students in Cameroon. PLoS One. 2022;17(10):e0276270. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Maeda E, Sugimori H, Nakamura F, Kobayashi Y, Green J, Suka M, et al. A cross sectional study on fertility knowledge in Japan, measured with the Japanese version of Cardiff Fertility Knowledge Scale (CFKS-J). Reprod Health. 2015;12:10. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Swift BE, Liu KE. The effect of age, ethnicity, and level of education on fertility awareness and duration of infertility. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2014;36(11):990-6. [Crossref] [PubMed]
- Berger A, Manlove J, Wildsmith E, Peterson K, Guzman L. What young adults know-and don't know-about women's fertility patterns: Implications for reducing unintended pregnancies. Child Trends Research Brief. 2012:1-6. [Link]
- Hampton K, Mazza D. Fertility-awareness knowledge, attitudes and practices of women attending general practice. Aust Fam Physician. 2015;44(11):840-5. [PubMed]
- Raghupathi V, Raghupathi W. The influence of education on health: an empirical assessment of OECD countries for the period 1995-2015. Arch Public Health. 2020;78:20. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Özşahin Z, Altıparmak S. Determining the effects of women's fertility awareness levels on obstetric history. Middle Black Sea Journal of Health Science. 2021;7(1):132-42. [Crossref]
- Iyanda AE, Dinkins BJ, Osayomi T, Adeusi TJ, Lu Y, Oppong JR. Fertility knowledge, contraceptive use and unintentional pregnancy in 29 African countries: a cross-sectional study. Int J Public Health. 2020;65(4):445-55. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Kusuma EW, Wardani HE, Hapsari A. The Relationship between age, parity and husband's support and the selection of long-term contraception method (MKJP) by woman of childbearing age. KnE Life Sciences. 2021:182-94. [Crossref]
- Emokpae MA, Brown SI. Effects of lifestyle factors on fertility: practical recommendations for modification. Reprod Fertil. 2021;2(1):R13-R26. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Panth N, Gavarkovs A, Tamez M, Mattei J. The Influence of Diet on Fertility and the Implications for Public Health Nutrition in the United States. Front Public Health. 2018;6:211. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Collins GG, Rossi BV. The impact of lifestyle modifications, diet, and vitamin supplementation on natural fertility. Fertil Res Pract. 2015;1:11. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Foucaut AM, Faure C, Julia C, Czernichow S, Levy R, Dupont C; ALIFERT collaborative group. Sedentary behavior, physical inactivity and body composition in relation to idiopathic infertility among men and women. PLoS One. 2019;14(4):e0210770. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Aria B, Salegi-Abarghui A, Lotfi MH, Mirzaei M. Effect of exercise, body mass index, and waist to hip ratio on female fertility. Journal of Basic Research in Medical Sciences. 2020;7(3):19-25. [Link]
- Xie F, You Y, Guan C, Gu Y, Yao F, Xu J. Association between physical activity and infertility: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. J Transl Med. 2022;20(1):237. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
- Brinson AK, da Silva SG, Hesketh KR, Evenson KR. Impact of physical activity and sedentary behavior on spontaneous female and male fertility: a systematic review. J Phys Act Health. 2023;20(7):600-15. [Crossref] [PubMed] [PMC]
.: Process List