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.