Differences and similarities in reproduction and its control determined by
religious orientation
D. Tanturovski, M. Stojovski, K. Stankova, E. Milanova, A. Alili, K.
Demerdziev
Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Medical Faculty, Skopje
The Objective of the study was to determine the influence of the religious
orientation on reproduction and the use of contraceptive methods, as means to
control it, before and after the first pregnancy.
Study Design and Methods: We included 120 women in a non-randomized,
prospective study. The women were divided in two groups: 60 women were Orthodox
Christians (30 Macedonians and 30 Serbs) and 60 women were Muslims (30 Albanians
and 30 Turks). The women were interviewed using a specifically prepared
questionnaire (translated to the language of each ethnicity). The obtained data
was processed using the standard statistical methods.
Results: The average age of the women was 27.3 years (+4.2) without
any statistically significant differences in both groups. In terms of the number
of children there is a significant difference between the two groups: the Muslim
women have 2.13 (+0.91) children on average, while the Orthodox women have an
average of 1.55 (+0.59) children. Artificial abortions are more common in the
Orthodox group than in the Muslim group but this is not statistically
significant. The Orthodox women have a considerably higher level of education
than the Muslim women. Before the first pregnancy, 81.7% of the Orthodox women
used contraception, whereas a mere 20% of the Muslim women did so. A
statistically significant difference on this matter can be observed between the
two groups. Coitus interruptus is the most frequently used contraceptive method
for the whole group. The use of condoms is considerably higher in the Orthodox
group. The degree of contraception use for controlling the first intergenesical
interval is greater in the Orthodox group, but this is not statistically
significant. The number of women with two or more children is significantly
higher in the Muslim group. In terms of the willingness to use contraception in
the future, there is a significant difference between the two groups: the number
of women that would use contraception in the future is considerably higher in
the Orthodox group.
Conclusion: Although the study covers a group of women which populate
the same territory, there are significant differences, in terms of reproduction
and it’s control, determined by the religious orientation. The Orthodox women
start reproduction at an older age and have less children than the Muslims. The
level of contraception use is also higher in the Orthodox group, both before and
after the fisrt pregnancy. Coitus interruptus is the method most frequently used
by both groups. Of the other methods of contraception, the Muslim women prefer
IUDs, while the Orhtodox women prefer condoms.
