Fertility regulation in women with different religious beliefs in R. Macedonia

D. Tanturovski¹, M. Stojovski¹, E. Milanova¹, Z. Palchevski¹, M. Tanturovski³, F. Besimi², N. Rufati²

¹Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Skopje, Macedonia, FYR, ²Medical Center, Tetovo, Macedonia, FYR, ³Medical Faculty, Skopje, Macedonia, FYR

Objective The purpose of the study was to determine if there are any differences in the modalities of fertility regulation between women with different religious beliefs.

Design and methods The prospective, randomised, unselected interview included 99 patients. The interview was conducted using a specially prepared questionnaire. The significance of the results was calculated using the Chi-square test.

Results The patients were divided in two groups: Group I was composed of 49 (49.5%) patients that were orthodox Christians and Group II was composed of 50 (50.5%) patients that were Muslims. The methods of contraception most frequently used up to the moment of the interview were: coitus interruptus in 41 (83.7%) of the patients in group I and 44 (88%) of the patients in group II and condoms in 7 (14.3%) of the patients in group I and 2 (4%) of the patients in group II. When asked what would they want to use in the future, 35 (71.4%) of the patients in group I and 47 (94%) of the patients in group II chose coitus interruptus as their primary method of contraception, while 12 (24.5%) of the patients in group I and 1 (2%) of the patients in group II opted for the use of condoms. When making this decision, the family or religion influenced none of the orthodox patients, while 4 (8%) and 6 (12%) of Muslim patients were heavily influenced by the family or religion, respectively. The differences between the groups concerning the preferred method of contraception and the influence of the family and religion over the decision were shown to be statistically significant (p<0.05).

Conclusion Our research showed that even though it was conducted on a coherent group on a narrow geographical space, there are certain differences in the modalities of fertility regulation. The key factor is the dominant influence of religion and family over the decision for contraception use in Muslim women, while the orthodox women make this decision independent of both the family and the church.