Desire for sons and subsequent fertility in rural India. A 20-year longitudinal study

This paper compares the desired fertility of rural Indian women in 1987 with their actual fertility in 2007. Seventy-one respondents who stated definite fertility intentions and had fewer children than desired in 1987 were re-interviewed 20 years later, as part of a larger study. The results indicated that these women had fewer children than intended and stopped childbearing once they reached, or approximated, their desired number of sons. The majority had been sterilized, indicating broad acceptance of lower fertility among rural women and the success of India's family planning efforts, although the practice of sex determination seems also to have played a role. These findings echo those of an earlier longitudinal study of reproductive intentions and outcomes in the same community, demonstrating the persistence of son preference in determining reproductive behaviour, even in the context of low overall fertility. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy and programme implications of the study's findings.     

Ideal versus actual: the contradiction in number of children born to Nigerian women

Although desired family size is often different from actual family size, the dynamics of this difference are not well understood. This paper examines the patterns and determinants of the difference between desired and actual number of children (unmet fertility desires) among women aged 15-49 years using pooled data from the 1990, 1999 and 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHSs). The results show that more than two-thirds of the sample have unmet fertility desires (18.1% have more while 52.4% have fewer than desired). It was found that early and late childbearing increased the odds of unmet fertility desires. Also, women with low levels of education, from poor households, rural residents as well as those who had experienced child death were at a higher risk of unmet fertility desires in the multivariate context. The study highlights the policy and programme implications of the findings.     

Fertility levels, trends and differentials in Kuwait

Data used in this study come from the published reports of the censuses and vital registration systems. The crude birth rate in Kuwait is very high, although an apparent decline seems to have started in the period 1975-80. There are considerable differences between the Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti populations. The former had a relatively stable high rate around 50 until 1975 and then fell to 47 in 1980. The total fertility rate was 6.8 per woman. The rate for the non-Kuwaitis rose in 1965-70 and then fell sharply throughout 1970-1980, from 44 to 30. Non-Kuwaiti fertility is consistently lower than Kuwaiti fertility at all ages, the differences being relatively greater after age 35. The peak ages of fertility are 25-29 years for Kuwaitis and 20-29 years for non-Kuwaitis. For Kuwaitis, there is clear evidence of declining fertility in the younger age groups but not in the older, largely reflecting the trend towards later marriage among the younger Kuwaitis. As expected, there is a diminishing trend in completed family size from the least to the most educated women in both Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti women in all age groups. The illiterate women at marriage are younger than the university educated women by about 5 years. Results further show that women who are economically active have lower fertility than those who are not, both in Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti groups. The differences in each group are significant, as are differences in the fertility level by husband's occupation. High fertility in Kuwait, as well as in other oil-exporting Arab countries, is a result of a variety of factors including the generally pronatalist sentiment of the Arab population, improved health facilities, rising wealth, the youthful age structure, the young age at marriage and the substantial incentives in the different governmental schemes to promote native high fertility and keep a balance between the native and immigrant populations.     

The Spanish woman and birth control

The author presents in this article just a small part of the results obtained in national survey of 1.902 married women, carried out in 1972, on "fertility and family planning in Spain". More specifically, attitudes of this sample of Spanish married women towards family planning are explained. It is pointed out, in the first place, that eight out of every ten interviewed women say that all married couples who can have children ought to have them. Younger women and those with a higher socio-econimic status, however, are less in favor of that statement. Trough several questions it is also evident that the number of interviewees who think that other women control their fertility is higher the more distant from the respondent is the social circle about which the question is formulated. In other words, interviewees resist to admit that persons with whom they are more intimately related control their fertility. Approximately half the women in the sample say that married couples should have as many children as may come, but the other half say that couples should decide the number of children they want to have and when they want to have them. This last opinion is relatively more important among younger and higher status women. Along with the previous finding, almost half of the interviewees are very much in favor or rather in favor of family planning, that proportion being even higher among younger and higher status women. Finally, seven ou of every ten respondents say that there should be wide and complete information about all family planning methods, leaving it up to each individual to use or not to use them according to its own conscience. This opinion, of course, is also more common among younger and higher status women.     

Preferences for sex of children: a multivariate analysis

Data from the 1973-74 Growth of Alberta Family Study were used to determine whether women who express a preference for sons versus daughters differ from each other in terms of selected characteristics. 67% of the 599 women surveyed indicated a preference for at least 1 child of each sex. However, the majority of those who wanted 3 children desired 2 sons and 1 daughter, indicating a slight son preference. Discriminant function analysis indicated the pull toward son preference was greater the higher the woman's education, the more sisters the wife has, and the higher the current family size and number of additional children expected. While the number of wife's sisters makes the greatest contribution to daughter preference among adolescent mothers, birth place (Canada) was most important among older women. Finally, it was shown that acceptance of traditional female roles was a significant discriminator among women with a strong sex preference and those with no sex preference at all. These findings suggest that sex preference may become an important factor in fertility decisions as family size continues to decrease. If sex predetermination were to become possible, an imbalance in the sex ratio is a likely result.     

Determinants of the sex ratio at birth: Review of recent literature

Abstract

Use of contraception by rural Egyptian women who desire no more children is examined within a modified microeconomic framework. Four sets of factors are hypothesized to influence current use of contraception: (1) costs of contraception, ‘(2) factors influencing the slope of the desired family size function, (3) anticipated costs of child rearing and (4) strength of motivation for fertility regulation. Women's education and two measures of psychic costs were found to be important predictors of contraceptive use. Factors affecting the demand for children and thus indirectly influencing the motivation for fertility regulation were also important. Land ownership, cultivating status of the household, and educational expectations for children were significantly related to current use. Strength of motivation, although significant, was less strongly related to use of contraception. The findings suggest women who want no more children, but who are not practicing contraception, are affected by factors influencing both the costs of contraception and the costs of an unwanted child.     

Estimation of fertility and mortality of the Kuwaiti population

Indirect techniques are applied to estimate the current level of fertility and mortality among Kuwaiti nationals in Kuwait during 1980-85. The various methods discussed provide estimates in the vicinity of 45 per thousand for birth rate and 8 per thousand for death rate. While child spacing by birth order in Kuwait is about 2 years, the proportion of childlessness is very low (1%). As a consequence of lower mortality and stable high fertility, the Kuwaiti population remains young.     

Fertility and family planning in Papua New Guinea

This paper examines some of the data on fertility, family size and family planning from a survey conducted between November 1979 and March 1980 in 8 provinces both in rural and urban areas of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The sample consisted of 6283 male and female respondents; a total of 3986 females in the age group 15-49 and 2297 males between the ages of 20 and 54 were interviewed. About 9% of the rural and 5.4% of the urban female respondents were pregnant at the time of the interview. The higher number of pregnancies recorded for the rural population, compared to the urban, is due to longer duration of marriage and higher mean age. Both rural and urban respondents have similar attitudes to the ideal number of children. 4 and 6 children were indicated as an ideal number for the urban and rural population, respectively. The results indicate that economic pressures are being felt within the family in both urban and rural areas, and that the costs of raising children are clearly perceived, at least among the educated. Nonetheless, the majority of the population desires large numbers of children, the main reason being economic security in old age. It is also evident that the people have a negative attitude to modern methods of contraception because they are not well informed about them. The most frequently stated reason, the harmful effects on the health of the mother and future offspring, is probably one of the obstacles to their more widespread use. Though there is physical accessibility to family planning services for most urban and about 1/2 of the rural dwellers, the problems of non-use are mainly of a sociological and psychological nature. The problems include the attitude of husbands to their wives' use of contraceptives, reinforcement of culturally acceptable behavior by the extended family and community members, and the desire for more children. Although the levels of contraceptive awareness are relatively high, the overall impression is that the practice of modern contraception in both the rural and urban areas is low. Despite the rural-urban differences in educational and income levels, living conditions, and the availability of family planning services, awareness and current use are only slightly higher among the urban respondents. For family planning programs to have more impact in reducing the high fertility levels, a much more intensive program of activites is needed for the country at large.     

Fitness and fertility among Kalahari !Kung

In this paper we develop a model that examines fertility and childhood mortality patterns and their relationship to environmental variables. Interactions among environmental variables can account for different fertility patterns and different mixes of these variables can produce similar patterns of fertility. Our model attempts to quantify the idea that there is a trade-off between producing a few children likely to survive to reproductive age and producing a greater number of children with lower chances for survival. The optimum mix of these strategies depends on environmental characteristics. We use the model to make predictions about fertility and mortality patterns among two Bushmen populations of southern Africa--the Ghanzi and Ngamiland !Kung--using data collected by Harpending in 1967-1968. The results do not support explanations of the low fertilities observed among !Kung Bushmen women, in whom it is thought that fitness is maximized by limiting fertility, and show no relationship between mortality and family size in either !Kung population. Instead, the number of offspring reaching reproductive age in both populations increases as their completed family size increases. We examine the effects of sex, birth order, and paternal investment on mortality. No sex ratio differences and no differences in mortality by sex or birth order are present. Infant mortality among women who married more than once is significantly higher than among women who married once, suggesting that paternal care has a significant effect.     

Fertility preferences among Malaysian women: an analysis of responses to the new population policy

About 10% of 3887 ever-married women included in the 1984-85 Malaysian Population and Family Survey revealed that they were influenced by the new population policy to desire more children than they had originally wanted. These women were more likely to be rural Malays from the lower socioeconomic class. Ideal family size was more than four children. Children are desired for economic benefits and emotional support. The natality of the Malays has risen since 1980: their total fertility rate has increased while their contraceptive prevalence rate has dropped sharply. Coupled with a decline in the crude death rate, the present fertility preferences and behaviour of the Malays will render the target of the population policy more attainable than is reflected by the survey data.     

Causes and consequences of increase in child survival rates: ethnoepidemiology among the Hmong of Thailand.

The Hmong "hill tribe" minority in Thailand has much higher exposure to factors usually associated with risk of child mortality (high fertility, low status of women, low education, less use of modern medical care for births, exposure to warfare, economic and physical disruption, and poor hygienic conditions) than the rural ethnic Thai population. Nonetheless, infant mortality has declined from over 120 per 1000 to under 50 per 1000 live births among both these populations in the past 30 years. The reason for the rapid increase in child survival among the Hmong appears to be better access to and more use of modern curative and preventive medical care associated with road construction rather than major changes in social or hygienic conditions. Conventional wisdom suggests that high fertility is both a cause and a consequence of high infant and child mortality and that parents will not reduce fertility until they see that mortality has declined. Most Hmong parents recognize the decline in child mortality and attribute it to better access to modern medical care. Most Hmong parents also say that, if they were starting to have children now, they would want to have fewer children. Fear of child death is infrequently mentioned as a motive for having more children, and the perceived decline in child mortality is rarely mentioned as a reason for reduced fertility. Most Hmong parents explain their desired family size in terms of economic conditions rather than perceived risk of child mortality. Results of this study suggest that fertility and child mortality can vary independently of one another and that major reductions in child mortality can be accomplished without waiting for major social changes (e.g., improved education or status of women) or major reductions in fertility.     

Sociodemographic attributes of Iranian wives who reported unwanted pregnancies

In a 1989 Family Planning Study in Iran, 40 percent of the married women of reproductive age reported that their last or current pregnancies were unwanted and unintended. This finding is consistent with the results obtained from a number of studies undertaken in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East. Although the phenomenon of unwanted pregnancy is a significant topic in the population studies, it has received very little attention. This paper shows the differences between two groups: group A, those married women who reported that their last or current pregnancies were wanted, and group B, those married women who reported that their last or current pregnancies were unwanted. The findings of this study clearly show significant differences between these two groups in regard to some key sociodemographic attributes: wife/husband's education, actual and desired fertility, wife's current age, past and present practice of contraceptive methods, and extent of satisfaction with family planning services are among the attributes differentiating these two groups. Our examination of these variables suggests that group B had higher parity, fertility, less desire for more children, less use of contraceptive techniques, and less satisfaction with the efficiency of the contraceptive techniques than group A. The relationship between education and wanted/unwanted pregnancies is mixed. The urban women who wanted pregnancies and were 25 years old or older were more educated than those who did not want pregnancies. On the contrary, the rural women whose pregnancies were not wanted were more educated than those who wanted pregnancies regardless of age, parity, and locality differences. Furthermore, the urban/rural women with different levels of parities who did not want to be pregnant were more educated than the urban/rural women who wanted pregnancies. Finally, the standardized regression coefficients, obtained in logistic regression, reveal that among urban women the desire for more children and parity are the first and second most significant independent variables differentiating between group A and group B. Among rural women, living children and the desire for more children were the first and second most important variables differentiating between group A and group B.     

Postponing or rejecting parenthood? Results of a survey among female academic professionals

The current surge in childlessness is often seen as an alternative lifestyle amidst growing pluralism and individualism. The results of this study indicate that several subgroups of childless women need to be differentiated: those who actively decide to forgo children in favour of other life pursuits and those who merely defer the decision. Both have accumulated a high degree of human capital in their education or career-building paths. Thus, the increase of a woman's time invested in education or career formation takes its toll on the time available for childrearing. A survey performed among female academics (N = 193) brought to light that among childless women, many merely mean to postpone motherhood until their career prospects are established. Differences between those who outwardly reject motherhood and those who defer the decision can be seen in a variety of job- and career-related aspects. However, due to misconceptions about fertility, many of those who merely intended to postpone children may inevitably end up 'involuntarily childless'. As this trend is most likely to increase in the near future, the resolution of this conflict will be an important milestone in the development of modern industrialized countries. As can be seen from this survey, financial benefits will not induce women to enter into motherhood. Rather, societal and infrastructural changes have to be brought about in order to induce women to enter into motherhood.     

Fishing and fertility: a study of a Nova Scotia fishing village.

The relationship between fertility and occupation is compared for: 1) deep-sea fishermen who are away from home as long as 21 days at a time with short rests between; 2) in-shore fishermen who are away at sea most nights; and 3) plant workers in the locality, used as controls. Particular attention was given to the families of fishermen who had done the same job since marriage. The population was old, relatively speaking, due to outmigration of younger people. 73% of the wives were over 30 years of age. Deep-sea fishermen are younger and have higher incomes than in-shore men (42.1 years vs 49.7 and $3544 vs $2900). Among women 15-44 years of age mean number of children for deep-sea fishermen was 3.35; in-shore, 3.60; plant workers, 3.62. Among those whose husbands had held the same job since marriage the variation was greater: deep-sea, 2.54; in-shore, 3.46; plant workers, 3.35. Among women over 45-years-old whose husbands had held the same job since marriage the number of children was 2.61, 3.94, and 4.27, respectively. 33% of plant workers had more children than desired and 66.7% said they had as many as desired. However, 25.9% of in-shore fishermen and 50% of deep-sea fishermen had fewer than desired. Interval between births was similar for all occupational groups (23.5-26.7 months) but the wives of deep-sea fishermen terminated childbearing earlier. Contraception was used only by the younger women, usually coitus interruptus or rhythm. Sterilization may have been important but it was hard to find out whether the 15% of wives who reported operations which made further childbearing impossible intended sterilization. 35.7% of deep-sea fishermens' wives reported such operations, generally women with larger families.     

Sociodemographic attributes of Iranian wives who reported unwanted pregnancies

Abstract

In a 1989 Family Planning Study in Iran, 40 percent of the married women of reproductive age reported that their last or current pregnancies were unwanted and unintended. This finding is consistent with the results obtained from a number of studies undertaken in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East. Although the phenomenon of unwanted pregnancy is a significant topic in the population studies, it has received very little attention. This paper shows the differences between two groups: group A, those married women who reported that their last or current pregnancies were wanted, and group B, those married women who reported that their last or current pregnancies were unwanted. The findings of this study clearly show significant differences between these two groups in regard to some key sociodemographic attributes: wife/husband's education, actual and desired fertility, wife's current age, past and present practice of contraceptive methods, and extent of satisfaction with family planning services are among the attributes differentiating these two groups. Our examination of these variables suggests that group B had higher parity, fertility, less desire for more children, less use of contraceptive techniques, and less satisfaction with the efficiency of the contraceptive techniques than group A. The relationship between education and wanted/unwanted pregnancies is mixed. The urban women who wanted‐pregnancies and were 25 years old or older were more educated than those who did not want pregnancies. On the contrary, the rural women whose pregnancies were not wanted were more educated than those who wanted pregnancies regardless of age, parity, and locality differences. Furthermore, the urban/rural women with different levels of parities who did not want to be pregnant were more educated than the urban/rural women who wanted pregnancies. Finally, the standardized regression coefficients, obtained in logistic regression, reveal that among urban women the desire for more children and parity are the first and second most significant independent variables differentiating between group A and group B. Among rural women, living children and the desire for more children were the first and second most important variables differentiating between group A and group B.     

Perceived environmental threats as a factor in reproductive behavior: an examination of American youth

This study presents a test of general life history theory by estimating the association between perceived environmental threat (PET) and reproductive outcomes among American youth. Data for the study came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997–2009, which consists of a nationally representative sample of youth. Analyses were based on a subsample of N= 4748 respondents who were aged 12–14 years in 1997; reported having no biological children in 1997; and, for females, were not pregnant at the time of the 1997 interview. PET was measured using 11 questionnaire items that asked respondents about experiences with violent assaults from peers, witnessing violent assaults, and nonviolent crime victimization. First childbirth occurred earlier among respondents who reported higher PET in 1997. Average fertility during the study period was also higher among respondents with higher PET. Male and female respondents' reproductive behaviors were similarly associated with PET. However, only among female respondents was the association between PET and fertility moderated by the quality of the household environment.     

Polygyny and fertility differentials among the Yoruba of western Nigeria

Data are analysed from the 1973 surveys of the Nigerian segment of the Changing African Family (CAFN) Project, which covered Yoruba women and men in Ibadan and the Western State of Nigeria. Of the 5874 women who were in union during the CAFN 1 survey, 54% reported that their husband had only 1 wife and 46% that their husband had more than 1 wife. Of the 1234 women in unions in the CAFN 2 survey, 49% reported monogamous husbands and 51% polygynous husbands. Differentials in fertility levels between women in monogamous unions and those in polygynous ones are investigated using mean number of children ever born as the measure of fertility. Factors examined include proportion of childless and infertile women, frequency of intercourse, age, educational level, religion, marital mobility (divorce) rank of wife and sexual abstinence. The CAFN 1 survey shows that wives of polygynists tend to be older than those of monogamists. Because of this the reported mean number of children ever born was higher for the wives of polygynists than for the wives of monogamists. When the data are standardized for the difference in age, the fertility levels of the women in the 2 types of unions were much closer to each other. When religion, education, abstinence, and occupation are also taken into account, it is observed that the 2 groups of women have similar levels of fertility. A multiple classification analysis was performed using number of wives of husband, educational level, religion and father's occupation as variables and occupation of spouse, place of birth, length of abstinence, contraceptive practice and age as covariates. The result also shows that the number of wives of the husband does not significantly affect the fertility level of women when other factors are taken into account. A high proportion of the Yoruba women are in polygynous unions and most of those in monogamous unions are potential wives of polygynists. Because of this, and particularly because most women try to have as many children as they can, the women in the 2 types of unions experience similar levels of fertility.     

The effect of husbands' fertility preferences on couples' reproductive behaviour in rural Bangladesh

Bangladesh society is profoundly gender stratified, and yet male roles in reproductive health processes have not been rigorously investigated. This study examines the association between men's reproductive health knowledge, attitude and behaviour and their wives' subsequent reproductive behaviour using longitudinal data from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). A total of 4969 matched husband-and-wife data from a 1998 survey and women's contraceptive use history data following this survey are used. Results show a significant association between husbands' fertility preferences and current use of any family planning method. When wives' background characteristics, and husbands' background and socioeconomic characteristics are controlled for, the predicted probability of using a method of contraception among non-educated wives whose husbands want more children is 0.49 compared with 0.64 for those whose husbands do not want more children. However, the net effect of husbands' preference for additional children diminishes as wives' level of education increases. Among wives who had completed high school, the predicted probability of using a method of contraception is 0.70 for those whose husbands want more children compared with 0.69 for those whose husbands do not want more children.     

The coevolution of human fertility and wealth inheritance strategies.

Life history theory concerns the scheduling of births and the level of parental investment in each offspring. In most human societies the inheritance of wealth is an important part of parental investment. Patterns of wealth inheritance and other reproductive decisions, such as family size, would be expected to influence each other. Here I present an adaptive model of human reproductive decision-making, using a state-dependent dynamic model. Two decisions made by parents are considered: when to have another baby, and thus the pattern of reproduction through life; and how to allocate resources between children at the end of the parents'' life. Optimal decision rules are those that maximize the number of grandchildren. Decisions are assumed to depend on the state of the parent, which is described at any time by two variables: number of living sons, and wealth. The dynamics of the model are based on a traditional African pastoralist system, but it is general enough to approximate to any means of subsistence where an increase in the amount of wealth owned increases the capacity for future production of resources. The model is used to show that, in the unpredictable environment of a traditional pastoralist society, high fertility and a biasing of wealth inheritance to a small number of children are frequently optimal. Most such societies are now undergoing a transition to lower fertility, known as the demographic transition. The effects on fertility and wealth inheritance strategies of reducing mortality risks, reducing the unpredictability of the environment and increasing the costs of raising children are explored. Reducing mortality has little effect on completed family sizes of living children or on the wealth they inherit. Increasing the costs of raising children decreases optimal fertility and increases the inheritance left to each child at each level of wealth, and has the potential to reduce fertility to very low levels. The results offer an explanation for why wealthy families are frequently also those with the smallest number of children in heterogeneous, post-transition societies.