| Abstract: | 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. |
