title: Family Change and Continuity in Iran: Birth Control Use Before First Pregnancy.
abstract: Using data from the 2002 Iran Fertility Transition Survey, we examined birth control use between marriage and first pregnancy. We focused on the post-1990 increase in birth control use and develop two explanations. The first posits that birth control use reflects a new marriage form, the conjugal marriage, which places a heightened value on the spousal relationship while deemphasizing the centrality of parenthood. A second explanation stresses the use of a new resource, effective birth control, within an Iranian-Islamist view of marriage. Key to this explanation is the role of the state-Iranian political/religious actors encourage early marriage and the use of birth control. Although the explanations could be complementary, evidence provides more support for the latter.
authors.affiliation: Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohammad Jalal
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Abbasi-Shavazi
authors.forename: S Philip
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Meimanat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hossein-Chavoshi
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McDonald