Using data from the 2002 Iran Fertility Transition Survey (IFTS) collected in four Iranian
provinces, the authors examine changes in elapsed time between marriage and first pregnancy.
Across 1971-2000 marriage cohorts, a u-shaped pattern is observed. This pattern can be
explained by: i) a monotonic decline in conception interval length possibly associated with a
shift from arranged to romantic marriages overlaid by ii) a sharp increase in birth control use
among those married after 1990. The authors focus on the post 1990 increase in contraceptive
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
de-emphasizing the centrality of parenthood. The competing explanation stresses the use of a
new resource, effective contraception, 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. Evidence from the IFTS provides more support for the later
explanation (than the former).