Factors Associated with Fertility Preference of Female Employees at a University

The research aims to determine the factors associated with the fertility preference of female employees at Iğdır University. In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, an attempt was made to reach the entire universe without choosing a sample. The population of the research consists of 186 female staff working in academic and administrative staff at Iğdır University in April 2022. 142 of these women are married. A literature review was conducted and questionnaires developed by the researcher were used. The questionnaire includes questions about women's demographic characteristics, socio-economic characteristics, fertility characteristics, cultural characteristics, information about the last pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact test were used to analyze the data. In the study, the significance level was accepted as p<0.05. According to the study findings, while there is a significant relationship between the place of residence, the woman's education level, the spouse's education level, consanguineous marriage, the economic status of the family and the number of people in the household and the woman's fertility preference, there is a significant relationship between the family structure and the spouse's employment in a job that brings regular income and the woman's fertility preference. No relationship was found (p<0.05). As a result, women in the workforce plan their pregnancies with effective contraceptive use. As the level of education of the mother and father and the level of welfare of the family increases, the number of children decreases. It may be possible to increase the number of pregnancies and births for women by improving working conditions for pregnant women.