Investigation of fertility health knowledge predicting attitudes towards fertility and childbearing in young women

Aim: This study aimed to examine whether fertility health knowledge predicts attitudes towards fertility and childbearing in young women. Materials and Methods: The research is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The research universe comprises young women aged 20-30 who were reached via WhatsApp. The sample size was determined to be 270 people in the power analysis calculation. The research data were collected between March 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, and included 300 women. The data were collected online via Google Forms using the 'Personal Information Form', 'Attitudes to Fertility and Childbearing Scale (AFCS)', and 'Fertility Health Knowledge Survey (FHKS)'. Research data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) (23.0) program. Results: A positive, moderate, and significant relationship was found between the total score of AFCS and the total score of FHKS (r: 0.533, p<0.05). Fertility health knowledge predicted 28.2% of the total score of AFCS (R2: 0.282). Women with high fertility health knowledge increased the total score of AFCS by 0.533% (β = -0.533). A positive, low and significant relationship was found between the total score of FHKS and the sub-dimensions of the Importance of Fertility for the Future (r: 0.395, p<0.05) and the Limitations of Having Children (r: 0.410, p<0.05), and a positive, very weak and insignificant relationship was found between the total score of FHKS and the sub-dimensions of AFCS (r: 0.029, p>:0.05). Conclusion: This study found that as women's fertility health knowledge increased, their attitudes towards fertility and childbearing also improved. Therefore, it is thought that training to increase fertility health knowledge appropriate to their age period, starting from adolescence, will be essential for women to improve their attitudes towards fertility and childbearing.