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Awareness of Female Reproductive Aging among Undergraduate Students and Attitudes toward Parenthood

Received: 5 December 2014     Accepted: 14 December 2014     Published: 4 January 2015
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Abstract

BACKGROUND- There is a trend towards delaying parenthood as a result of drive towards career attainment which is compounded by preponderance of economic hardship in deprived settings of the developing world, even though reproductive behaviour is mainly fertility oriented in these societies. OBJECTIVE - To find out awareness of reproductive aging and attitude towards parenthood among university undergraduate students METHODS - A cross sectional survey done between year 2010 and 2011 using pre tested self administered questionnaire. Study group were students from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna. The respondents were divided into two cohort; medical students (MS) and non medical students (NMS). A total of 306 questionnaires were analysed; 103 for MS cohort and 203 for NMS cohort. RESULTS - Awareness on age related fertility decline reveal that age 20 to 24years was mostly viewed as most fertile age interval by 91.3% in the MS cohort while age 25 to 29 years was viewed as the most fertile age interval by 88.2% in the NMS cohort. In the MS cohort, age 35 to 39years was seen as the age interval of marked fertility decline by 90.3% of the 103 respondents while in the NMS cohort age 40years and above was mostly viewed as age of marked fertility decline in 85.2% of the 203 respondents. All (100%) respondents from both MS and NMS cohort have the desire to be parents in future with average number of children desired being 3.8 and 4.2 in the MS and NMS cohort respectively. A rate of 93.2% in the MS cohort and 97.5% in NMS cohort viewed parenthood as extremely important. However, desired age to have first child was 25 to 29years by 85.4% of 103 respondents in MS cohort and 30 to 35years by 89.2% of 203 respondents in the NMS cohort. CONCLUSION - Awareness on female reproductive aging is undoubtedly better among MS compared to NMS. Though attitude towards parenthood is high in both cohorts, interplay of variables towards improved livelihood will determine the commencement age of parenthood.

Published in Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics (Volume 2, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19
Page(s) 123-126
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Parenthood, Female Reproductive Aging, University Students, Awareness, Attitude

References
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[3] Tyden T, Svanberg AS, Karlstrom PO, Lihoff L, Lampic C. Female university students' attitude to future motherhood and their understanding about fertility. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care 2006; 11:181-189.
[4] Hammarberg K, Clarke VE. Reasons for delaying childbearing- a survey of women aged over 35years seeking assisted reproductive technology. Aust Fam Physician 2005; 34: 187. 8, 206.
[5] Heck KE, Schoendorf KC, Ventura SJ, Kiely JL. Delayed childbearing by education level in the United States, 1969-1994. Matern Child Health J 1997; 1: 81-88.
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[7] Dunson D, Colombo B, Baird D. Changes with age in the level and duration of fertility in the menstrual cycle. Hum Reprod 2002; 17:1399-1403.
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[10] Tough S, Newburn-Cook C, Johnston D, Svenson L, Rose S, Belik J. Delayed childbearing and its impact on population rate changes in lower birth weight, multiple birth and preterm delivery. Paediatrics 2002; 109: 399-403.
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[16] Tough S, Benzies K, Fraser-Lee N, Newburn-Cook C. Factors influencing childbearing decisions and knowledge of perinatal risks among Canadian men and women. Matern Child Health J 2007; 11:189-198.
[17] Adashi EY, Cohen J, Hamberger L, Jones HW Jr, de Krester DM, Lunenfeld B et al. Public perception on infertility and its treatment: an international survey. The Bertarelli Foundation Scientific Board. Hum Reprod 200; 15:330-334.
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Cite This Article
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    Adebiyi Gbadebo Adesiyun, Nkeiruka Ameh, Marliyya Zayyan, Hajaratu Umar-Sullayman, Solomon Avidime, et al. (2015). Awareness of Female Reproductive Aging among Undergraduate Students and Attitudes toward Parenthood. Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2(6), 123-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19

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    ACS Style

    Adebiyi Gbadebo Adesiyun; Nkeiruka Ameh; Marliyya Zayyan; Hajaratu Umar-Sullayman; Solomon Avidime, et al. Awareness of Female Reproductive Aging among Undergraduate Students and Attitudes toward Parenthood. J. Gynecol. Obstet. 2015, 2(6), 123-126. doi: 10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19

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    AMA Style

    Adebiyi Gbadebo Adesiyun, Nkeiruka Ameh, Marliyya Zayyan, Hajaratu Umar-Sullayman, Solomon Avidime, et al. Awareness of Female Reproductive Aging among Undergraduate Students and Attitudes toward Parenthood. J Gynecol Obstet. 2015;2(6):123-126. doi: 10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19,
      author = {Adebiyi Gbadebo Adesiyun and Nkeiruka Ameh and Marliyya Zayyan and Hajaratu Umar-Sullayman and Solomon Avidime and Korede Koledade and Fadimatu Bakare},
      title = {Awareness of Female Reproductive Aging among Undergraduate Students and Attitudes toward Parenthood},
      journal = {Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6},
      pages = {123-126},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jgo.20140206.19},
      abstract = {BACKGROUND- There is a trend towards delaying parenthood as a result of drive towards career attainment which is compounded by preponderance of economic hardship in deprived settings of the developing world, even though reproductive behaviour is mainly fertility oriented in these societies. OBJECTIVE - To find out awareness of reproductive aging and attitude towards parenthood among university undergraduate students METHODS - A cross sectional survey done between year 2010 and 2011 using pre tested self administered questionnaire. Study group were students from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna. The respondents were divided into two cohort; medical students (MS) and non medical students (NMS). A total of 306 questionnaires were analysed; 103 for MS cohort and 203 for NMS cohort. RESULTS - Awareness on age related fertility decline reveal that age 20 to 24years was mostly viewed as most fertile age interval by 91.3% in the MS cohort while age 25 to 29 years was viewed as the most fertile age interval by 88.2% in the NMS cohort. In the MS cohort, age 35 to 39years was seen as the age interval of marked fertility decline by 90.3% of the 103 respondents while in the NMS cohort age 40years and above was mostly viewed as age of marked fertility decline in 85.2% of the 203 respondents. All (100%) respondents from both MS and NMS cohort have the desire to be parents in future with average number of children desired being 3.8 and 4.2 in the MS and NMS cohort respectively. A rate of 93.2% in the MS cohort and 97.5% in NMS cohort viewed parenthood as extremely important. However, desired age to have first child was 25 to 29years by 85.4% of 103 respondents in MS cohort and 30 to 35years by 89.2% of 203 respondents in the NMS cohort. CONCLUSION - Awareness on female reproductive aging is undoubtedly better among MS compared to NMS. Though attitude towards parenthood is high in both cohorts, interplay of variables towards improved livelihood will determine the commencement age of parenthood.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Awareness of Female Reproductive Aging among Undergraduate Students and Attitudes toward Parenthood
    AU  - Adebiyi Gbadebo Adesiyun
    AU  - Nkeiruka Ameh
    AU  - Marliyya Zayyan
    AU  - Hajaratu Umar-Sullayman
    AU  - Solomon Avidime
    AU  - Korede Koledade
    AU  - Fadimatu Bakare
    Y1  - 2015/01/04
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19
    T2  - Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
    JF  - Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
    JO  - Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
    SP  - 123
    EP  - 126
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7820
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jgo.20140206.19
    AB  - BACKGROUND- There is a trend towards delaying parenthood as a result of drive towards career attainment which is compounded by preponderance of economic hardship in deprived settings of the developing world, even though reproductive behaviour is mainly fertility oriented in these societies. OBJECTIVE - To find out awareness of reproductive aging and attitude towards parenthood among university undergraduate students METHODS - A cross sectional survey done between year 2010 and 2011 using pre tested self administered questionnaire. Study group were students from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna. The respondents were divided into two cohort; medical students (MS) and non medical students (NMS). A total of 306 questionnaires were analysed; 103 for MS cohort and 203 for NMS cohort. RESULTS - Awareness on age related fertility decline reveal that age 20 to 24years was mostly viewed as most fertile age interval by 91.3% in the MS cohort while age 25 to 29 years was viewed as the most fertile age interval by 88.2% in the NMS cohort. In the MS cohort, age 35 to 39years was seen as the age interval of marked fertility decline by 90.3% of the 103 respondents while in the NMS cohort age 40years and above was mostly viewed as age of marked fertility decline in 85.2% of the 203 respondents. All (100%) respondents from both MS and NMS cohort have the desire to be parents in future with average number of children desired being 3.8 and 4.2 in the MS and NMS cohort respectively. A rate of 93.2% in the MS cohort and 97.5% in NMS cohort viewed parenthood as extremely important. However, desired age to have first child was 25 to 29years by 85.4% of 103 respondents in MS cohort and 30 to 35years by 89.2% of 203 respondents in the NMS cohort. CONCLUSION - Awareness on female reproductive aging is undoubtedly better among MS compared to NMS. Though attitude towards parenthood is high in both cohorts, interplay of variables towards improved livelihood will determine the commencement age of parenthood.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecolgy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecolgy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecolgy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecolgy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecolgy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecolgy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecolgy, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria

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