Effect of education on age at first birth in Semnan, Hormozgan, Kohkiloye and Booir Ahmad provinces, Iran

Introduction: Iran experienced a dramatic fertility decline during recent decades. There was also an indication of a shift towards later childbearing from 2000. Past research on fertility has shown that the education variable is the most important determinant of fertility behaviors. However, the impact of education on fertility timing in Iran has been less considered. Methods: In a cross sectional study 1149 ever-married women aged 35-44 in three provinces with different levels of fertility, Semnan, Hormozgan, Kohkiluye and Booir Ahmad, were selected by the multi-stage cluster sampling method. A structured questionnaire instrument was used for data collection. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox Regression were used to analyze data. Results: Kaplan-Meier estimates in three province show significantly different between age at first birth and women’s educational level (P<0.05). Mean of age at first birth among university educated women in Semnan, Hormozgan, and Kohkiloye and Booir Ahmad provinces was 23.5, 24.6 and 24.29 respectively. Results of the multivariate analysis using the Cox Proportional Hazard model show also that university education is a significant factor in reducing the risk a first birth in three provinces. However the decreasing impact on the risk of first birth in Semnan is lower than other provinces. Conclusion: Women’s access to education in Iran is a substantial contributor of postponement of childbearing and higher educated women are pioneers in delaying childbearing and reducing fertility in Iran.