STRATEGIES OF REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN WHO SUFFER FROM DIFFERENT MALIGNANT TUMORS

Reproductive strategies were studied in Russia and abroad in families with children with severe diseases, including cancer. It is shown that the decision to give birth to a child in these families is associated more with the emotional than with the rational component of the reproductive dispositions. The purpose was to study dispositions of reproductive behavior in families in pediatric Oncology. We studied 992 mothers aged from 25 to 45 years (median 36) from the families where children completed antitumor treatment. The secondary analysis of the all-Russian sample study was used as a control. Statistical processing was performed in the SPSS 17.0 program using nonparametric methods. Reproductive strategies in families were studied in the context of different types of malignant tumors in children: leukemias, lymphomas, CNS tumors, and other solid tumors. The indices of reproductive attitudes and the number of born children were considerably higher in the studied cohort than in control (average desired number of children – 2.59 vs 2.28; expected – 2.24 vs 1.72, children born – 1.75 and 1.28, respectively, p<0.01). However 21,2% of the families wanted but postponed the newborn, which is more associated with the irrational fears, supported by the myths and stigma of Cancer. Specific factors associated with the type of malignant tumor in a child do not play a decisive role in the reproductive behavior of the family, but they can also contribute to postponing of births. It is necessary to provide medical, social and psychological assistance to parents at all stages of antitumor treatment, as well as to inform the population in order to eliminate myths and stigmas about cancer from the public consciousness.