1.  Peer Reviewed Title: A new estimate of permanent sterility by age: Sterility defined as the inability to conceive. Author: Leridon H Source: Population Studies. 2008 Mar;62(1):15-24. Abstract: The proportion of couples permanently sterile beyond a certain age is an important component of the reproductive process. Unless medical assistance is used, this age is the upper bound of the fecund period. Most estimates of sterility by age of the woman have been derived from natural fertility populations, in which the number of births and the timing of the last birth (of the complete reproductive history) were not controlled by the couples. Because data on these populations do not include pregnancies not ending in a live birth, the sterility estimates apply to the proportion of couples unable to conceive and to have a live birth. For this reason, it is useful to have an estimate of sterility based on the risk of conceiving, independently of the fate of the pregnancy. Using this new estimate, sterility increases with age much more slowly than with most previous estimates. (author's) Language: English Keywords: GLOBAL | RESEARCH REPORT | THEORETICAL MODELS | INFERTILITY | NATURAL FERTILITY | FECUNDABILITY | RISK FACTORS | ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES | Research Methodology | Reproduction | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Fecundity | Biology Document Number: 324153 |
| 2. Peer Reviewed Title: Deliberate control in a natural fertility population: southern Sweden, 1766-1864. Author: Bengtsson T; Dribe M Source: Demography. 2006 Nov;43(4):727-746. Abstract: In this article, we analyze fertility control in a rural population characterized by natural fertility, using survival analysis on a longitudinal data set at the individual level combined with food prices. Landless and semilandless families responded strongly to short-term economic stress stemming from changes in prices. The fertility response, both to moderate and large changes in food prices, was the strongest within six months after prices changed in the fall, which means that the response was deliberate. People foresaw bad times and planned their fertility accordingly. The result highlights the importance of deliberate control of the timing of childbirth before the fertility transition, not in order to achieve a certain family size but, as in this case, to reduce the negative impacts of short-term economic stress. (author's) Language: English Keywords: SWEDEN | RESEARCH REPORT | RURAL POPULATION | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | NATURAL FERTILITY | FERTILITY DETERMINANTS | REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR | SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS | ECONOMIC CONDITIONS | FOOD SUPPLY | PRICES | BIRTH INTERVALS | Europe, Northern | Europe | Developed Countries | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Demography | Social Sciences | Science | Sociocultural Factors | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Socioeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Macroeconomic Factors | Natural Resources | Environment | Commerce | Fertility Measurements Document Number: 310405 |
| 3. Peer Reviewed Title: Caesarean section and subsequent fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Author: Collin S; Marshall T; Filippi V Source: BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2006 Mar;113(3):276-283. Abstract: Objective To determine the impact of caesarean section on fertility among women in sub-Saharan Africa. Design Analysis of standardised cross-sectional surveys (Demographic and Health Surveys). Setting Twenty-two countries in sub-Saharan Africa, 1993-2003. Sample A total of 35 398 women of childbearing age (15-49 years). Methods Time to subsequent pregnancy was compared by mode of delivery using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Main outcome measures Natural fertility rates subsequent to delivery by caesarean section compared with natural fertility rates subsequent to vaginal delivery. Results The natural fertility rate subsequent to delivery by caesarean section was 17% lower than the natural fertility rate subsequent to vaginal delivery (hazard ratio = 0.83, 95% CI 0.73-0.96, P < 0.01; controlling for age, parity, level of education, urban/rural residence and young age at first intercourse. Caesarean section was also associated with prior fertility and desire for further children: among multiparous women, an interval =3 versus <3 years between the index birth and the previous birth was associated with higher odds of caesarean section at the index birth (OR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.7, P = 0.005); among all women, the odds of desiring further children were lower among women who had previously delivered by caesarean section (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.54-0.84, P < 0.001). Caesarean section did not appear to increase the risk of a subsequent pregnancy ending in miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth. Conclusions Among women in sub-Saharan Africa, caesarean section is associated with lower subsequent natural fertility. Although this reflects findings from developed countries, the roles of pathological and psychological factors may be quite different because a much higher proportion of caesarean section in sub-Saharan Africa are emergency procedures for maternal indication. (author's) Language: English Keywords: AFRICA, SUB SAHARAN | RESEARCH REPORT | CROSS SECTIONAL ANALYSIS | DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEYS | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | CESAREAN SECTION | FERTILITY RATE | NATURAL FERTILITY | FAMILY SIZE, DESIRED | Developing Countries | Africa | Research Methodology | Demographic Surveys | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Obstetrical Surgery | Surgery | Treatment | Medical Procedures | Medicine | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Birth Rate | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Family Size | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors Document Number: 298326 |
| 4. Title: Levels and patterns of natural marital fertility among low contraceptive communities of southern Ethiopia. Author: Regassa N Source: Demography India. 2006 Jul-Dec;35(2):247-261. Abstract: Natural fertility (N), which is the concern of this study, typically characterizes many traditional communities of Ethiopia. Most communities in Ethiopia are still experiencing high and stable fertility (TFR of above 6 per woman) and the onset of fertility decline has not yet been well established in these dominantly agrarian communities. This scenario can easily be understood by looking at the absence of such deliberate control of birth as measured by contraceptive prevalence rate. According to recent estimate, the overall contraceptive prevalence for the country is about 8 per cent (CSA, 2000). In the study area, Southern federal state, the scenario is even worse, with over all contraceptive prevalence of about 6 per cent, which even comes down to almost nil if one looks at the sub district level (SNNPR, 2001). The high and sustained "natural fertility" in the region can also be inferred from the current level of TFR of some districts or zones which is ranging between 5.6 for Kembatta district to 7.9 in Sidama (DTRC, 1998) varying mainly due to differences in socio cultural experiences across communities. The major objective of this study is to estimate the levels and age patterns of marital fertility of the study population using some demographic models. It is also aimed at examining the extent to which the marital fertility patterns of the study population resembles the standard age patterns of natural fertility. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: ETHIOPIA | RESEARCH REPORT | FERTILITY SURVEYS | MATHEMATICAL MODEL | WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT | EVER MARRIED | HOUSEHOLDS | CONTRACEPTIVE PREVALENCE | HUMAN GEOGRAPHY | AGE FACTORS | DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS | DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION | NATURAL FERTILITY | MARITAL FERTILITY | FAMILY PLANNING POLICY | Developing Countries | Africa, Eastern | Africa, Sub Saharan | Africa | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Population | Theoretical Models | Research Methodology | Economic Development | Economic Factors | Marital Status | Nuptiality | Family and Household | Sociocultural Factors | Contraceptive Usage | Contraception | Family Planning | Geography | Social Sciences | Science | Population Characteristics | Population Policy | Social Policy | Policy | Political Factors Document Number: 324133 |
| 5. Peer Reviewed Title: Deliberate birth spacing before the fertility transition in Europe: evidence from nineteenth-century Belgium. Author: Van Bavel J Source: Population Studies. 2004;58(1):95-107. Abstract: Many scholars have argued that deliberate birth spacing may have played a role before and during the modern fertility transition. There are good historical and theoretical reasons for this view, but it has proved to be hard to demonstrate convincingly that birth intervals were in fact partly determined by attempts at deliberate fertility control. This paper suggests a method of securing evidence on the issue for married couples. The method is applied to three cohorts living in a Belgian town in the nineteenth century. The findings indicate that, even before the fertility transition, couples in the working class were controlling their fertility by deliberate spacing. (author's) Language: English Keywords: BELGIUM | RESEARCH REPORT | POPULATION | FAMILY SIZE | BIRTH SPACING | NATURAL FERTILITY | BIRTH INTERVALS | FAMILY PLANNING, TRADITIONAL METHODS | DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION | DEPENDENCY BURDEN | HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | Developed Countries | Europe, Western | Europe | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Family Planning | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Fertility Measurements | Microeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Demography | Social Sciences Document Number: 191158 |
| 6. Peer Reviewed Title: Bridewealth and birth control: low fertility in the Indonesian Archipelago, 1500 - 1900. Author: Boomgaard P Source: Population and Development Review. 2003 Jun;29(2):197-214. Abstract: In this article, I argue that high fertility rates are not a traditional feature of Indonesian societies but, on the contrary, should be regarded as a recent phenomenon. This is not an entirely new argument, but it has not received adequate attention in the recent discussion of low population growth rates in premodern Southeast Asia. That discussion, to which Anthony Reid is the main contributor, has been dominated by arguments regarding the death rate, which was assumed to be the most important determinant of the rate of population growth. Other features of Indonesia’s premodern fertility pattern have been misrepresented or ignored, particularly the female age at first marriage and the influence of bridewealth payments.3 I argue that, Java aside, marriage in Indonesia was probably neither universal nor concluded at an early age before 1850, even though extended families were found in many places outside Java. Extended families, therefore, need not go hand in hand with early and universal marriage. In what follows, I am mainly concerned with the fertility side of the equation, but since an explanation of low population growth rates has to take mortality into account as well, I begin with a summary of the recent discussion regarding levels and fluctuations of the death rate. (excerpt) Language: English Keywords: INDONESIA | RESEARCH REPORT | CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISONS | DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS | LOW FERTILITY POPULATION | HOUSEHOLDS | NATURAL FERTILITY | BIRTH RATE | DEATH RATE | MARRIAGE POSTPONEMENT | MARRIAGE AGE | WOMEN | PRICES | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | AGE FACTORS | ABSTINENCE | FAMILY SIZE | ADOPTION | POPULATION GROWTH | Asia, Southeastern | Asia | Developing Countries | Comparative Studies | Studies | Research Methodology | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family and Household | Fertility Measurements | Mortality | Marriage | Nuptiality | Marriage Patterns | Commerce | Macroeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Population Characteristics | Family Planning, Behavioral Methods | Family Planning | Family Characteristics | Child Rearing | Behavior Document Number: 182043 |
| 7. Peer Reviewed Title: Does an effect of marriage duration on pre-transition fertility signal parity-dependent control? An empirical test in nineteenth-century Leuven, Belgium. Author: Van Bavel J Source: Population Studies. 2003 Mar;57(1):55-62. Abstract: It has been demonstrated for many pre-industrial populations that the age at marriage, or marriage duration, influences age-specific marital fertility but the reason for this remains unclear. Among the several mechanisms that may be responsible, the following are often cited: secondary sterility or increased subfecundity associated with parity; declining coital frequency; the age difference between the spouses; and, importantly, parity-dependent fertility control. If the latter mechanism were partly responsible for the marriage-duration effect in pre-transition populations, it would contradict the concept of the modern fertility transition as the evolution (or revolution) from parity-independent to parity-dependent fertility. The study presented in this paper investigates the relative importance of these alternative explanations. The application of multivariate Poisson regression to the fertility data from two birth cohorts in the Belgian city of Leuven shows that a linearly declining or even concave age-specific fertility pattern, disaggregated by age at marriage, does not imply parity-dependent fertility limitation. (author's) Language: English Keywords: BELGIUM | THEORETICAL MODELS | FERTILITY | DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION | MARRIAGE DURATION | NATURAL FERTILITY | FERTILITY CONTROL, POSTCOITAL | COITAL FREQUENCY | Developed Countries | Europe, Western | Europe | Research Methodology | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Marriage | Nuptiality | Family Planning | Sex Behavior | Behavior Document Number: 177941 |
8.  Title: Inhibiting factors for fertility in the reproductive considerations of the Bolivian population. [Factores que inhiben la fertilidad en las consideraciones reproductivas de la población boliviana] Author: Torrez H; Garcia F; Montana J Source: [Research Triangle Park, North Carolina], Family Health International [FHI], 2002 Jan 26. 1 p. (CIEPP No. 12) Abstract: This study is based on data gathered in the National Demographic and Health Surveys of 1989 and 1994. The objectives of the study were: to offer relevant information for initiatives in improving the health of women and the general population; and, to identify indicators related to women who are unsatisfied with contraception and to potential users of methods for the purpose of identifying options and anticipating initiatives that will be necessary in the near future. The study analyzed the impact of four intermediate variables on the natural fertility rate of Bolivian women nationwide, in both urban and rural areas. Among the study's findings are the following: Not marrying contributes to reduction in total fertility by 24% nationwide, 23.3% for urban dwellers, and 24.7% in rural areas. For contraceptive use, the figures reflect a contribution to fertility reduction at rates of 39.8%, 49%, and 27.7% respectively for the national, urban and rural populations. Postpartum infertility due to lactation and abstinence from sexual relations contributes 36.6%, 27.7%, and 47.7% respectively to reduction in total fertility for the three population groups. (excerpt) Spanish Abstract: Este estudio se basa en datos recabados en las Encuestas Nacionales de Demografía y Salud de 1989 y 1994. Los objetivos del estudio fueron: ofrecer información relevante para las iniciativas en mejorar la salud de las mujeres y la población en general e identificar los indicadores relacionados con las mujeres no satisfechas con los anticonceptivos, y con los usuarios potenciales de métodos para identificar las opciones y anticipar las iniciativas que serán necesarias en el futuro cercano. El estudio analizó el impacto de cuatro variables intermedias sobre la tasa natural de fertilidad de las mujeres bolivianas en todo el país (zonas urbanas y rurales). A continuación se presentan algunos de los hallazgos del estudio: No estar casada contribuye a la reducción en un 24% de la fertilidad total en todo el país (23,3% para habitantes de las zonas urbanas y 24,7% de las rurales). Para el uso de anticonceptivos, las cifras reflejan un aporte a la reducción de la fertilidad del 39,8%, 49% y 27,7% respectivamente para las poblaciones nacional, urbana y rural. La infertilidad postparto debido a la lactancia y abstinencia de relaciones sexuales contribuye el 36,6%, 27,7% y 47,7% respectivamente a la reducción en fertilidad total para los tres grupos de población. (extracto) Language: English Keywords: BOLIVIA | SUMMARY REPORT | SURVEYS | DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEYS | FERTILITY RATE | WOMEN | REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH | CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE | NATURAL FERTILITY | IMPACT | Developing Countries | South America, Central | South America | Latin America | Americas | Sampling Studies | Studies | Research Methodology | Demographic Surveys | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Birth Rate | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Health | Contraception | Family Planning | Communication Document Number: 173318 |
| 9. Title: Fertility regulation among the Yoruba: an applied participatory research project in Lagos state. Report. Author: Koster-Oyekan W Source: Lagos, Nigeria, Women's Health and Action Research Centre, 2000 Jun. [5], 63 p. Abstract: Fertility regulation means all methods and measures intended to influence the natural fertility of a woman. Such methods and measures include infertility treatments, contraception and induced abortion. This paper presents the procedures, experiences, major findings, and recommendations of an applied research project in fertility regulation practices among the Yoruba of Lagos State, Nigeria, from 1997-99. Outlined into eight chapters, chapter 1 is the introduction and gives the rationale for the study and the study objectives. Chapter 2 explains the study methodology and focuses on some of the major activities. Chapter 3 introduces the Yoruba traditional midwives, whose services are highly used in both rural and urban areas. Chapter 4 presents the study findings on the perceptions and treatments of infertility. Chapter 5 deals with prevention of pregnancy and reasons why women are not using any prevention. Chapter 6 tackles the problems related to induced abortion. The discussion and findings on youths are presented in chapter 7. Finally, chapter 8 displays the recommendations for addressing the identified problems. It is hoped that this study will provide more insight into the problems related to fertility regulation and increase the motivation to take action and tackle the problems in an objective, practical way, without prejudices. Language: English Keywords: NIGERIA | TECHNICAL REPORT | FOCUS GROUPS | SAMPLING STUDIES | INTERVIEWS | NATURAL FERTILITY | CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS | ABORTION | INFERTILITY | TREATMENT | Africa, Western | Africa, Sub Saharan | Africa | Developing Countries | Data Collection | Research Methodology | Studies | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Contraception | Family Planning | Fertility Control, Postconception | Reproduction Document Number: 163187 Notification |
| 10. Title: A phylogenetic analysis of the relationship between sub-adult mortality and mode of subsistence. Author: Sellen DW; Mace R Source: JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE. 1999 Jan;31(1):1-16. Abstract: Studies have suggested that among traditional, pre-industrial human populations, some demographic parameters are or were associated with the mode of subsistence. Based upon the analysis of data on a cross-cultural sample of 39 cultures, findings are reported from a test of the hypothesis that measures of sub-adult mortality rates in natural fertility populations are associated with subsistence practices. After controlling for distance from the equator and the general likelihood of cultural similarities between genetically closely related cultures using phylogenetic methods, it was found that dependence upon extractive modes of subsistence such as hunting, fishing, and gathering, was a significant positive correlate of total child mortality. Increases in dependence upon foraging and permanent settlement were associated with increases in child mortality between pairs of historically related cultures. Little association, however, was found between infant mortality and dependence upon foraging or settlement. Language: English Keywords: GLOBAL | RESEARCH REPORT | CHILD MORTALITY | INFANT MORTALITY | NATURAL FERTILITY | Mortality | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Fertility Document Number: 140592 |
| 11. Title: Towards a demographic history of abortion. Author: Van de Walle E Source: Population: an English Selection. 1999;11:115-32. Abstract: The author proposes to examine with skepticism the arguments on the demographic impact of abortion prior to 1800. This “terminus ad quem” was chosen to exclude the demographic transition whose onset in Western populations occurred during the 19th century: the study must be limited to regimes of `natural fertility', a category that (in the absence of contrary evidence) the author takes to encompass all historical populations. Following Louis Henry, he defines natural fertility as the fertility of married couples who do not deliberately attempt to limit their family size. …He concludes that although abortion has always existed, it was a rare occurrence in the past, generally reserved for non- marital conceptions, and so had little impact on the fertility level, which depended principally on the behavior of married couples. In particular, it had little effect on the natural fertility level and was not used with the purpose of restricting family size. (excerpt, modified) Language: English Keywords: EUROPE | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | HISTORICAL REVIEW | CRITIQUE | DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACT | NATURAL FERTILITY | ABORTION | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | FAMILY SIZE | Developed Countries | North America | Americas | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Fertility | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Demography | Social Sciences | Family Characteristics | Family and Household Document Number: 168569 Notification |
| 12. Title: [Analysis of demographic facts and behavior] L'analyse des faits et des comportements demographiques. Author: France. Institut National d'Etudes Demographiques [INED] Source: POPULATION. 1998 Jan-Apr;53(1-2):271-397. Abstract: This section contains six studies on various historical demographic topics. They are: The demographic history of abortion, by Etienne Van de Walle; The components of biological kinship in a regime of natural fertility: the example of old Quebec, by Jean-Francois Naud, Bertrand Desjardins, and Hubert Charbonneau; London or Paris? A great debate in political arithmetic (1662-1759), by Jacques Dupaquier; For a socio-economic study of small towns: the example of Belley in 1695, by Olivier Zeller; The urban surplus of women in preindustrial France and the role of domestic service, by Antoinette Fauve-Chamoux; and Cholera and the question of insanitary housing in Paris (1832-1849), by Rene le Mee. (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA) Language: French Keywords: GLOBAL | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | ABORTION | NATURAL FERTILITY | CANADA | FRANCE | UNITED KINGDOM | URBAN POPULATION | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | SEX RATIO | SANITATION | DISEASES | CHOLERA | HOUSING | Demography | Social Sciences | Fertility Control, Postconception | Family Planning | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Developed Countries | North America, Northern | Americas | Europe, Western | Europe | United Kingdom | Population Characteristics | Economic Factors | Sex Distribution | Sex Factors | Public Health | Health | Bacterial and Fungal Diseases | Infections | Residence Characteristics | Population Distribution | Geographic Factors Document Number: 256147 Notification |
| 13. Title: Is the reduction of birth intervals an efficient reproductive strategy in traditional Morocco? Author: Crognier E Source: ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY. 1998 Sep-Oct;25(5):479-87. Abstract: This study examined whether high fertility in Morocco among peasant, Berber, natural fertility populations relying on short birth intervals (SBIs) is an efficient reproductive strategy. Data were obtained from a subsample of reproductive life histories of 517 menopausal agriculturist women aged 50-70 years at the time surveys were conducted during 1984-87. The reproductive cycle began for the oldest and youngest women in 1930-35 and 1950-55. Age at menarche was late, followed by marriage after a mean interval of 3 years. The mean interval to first birth was 19.2 months. The subsequent pace of fertility had a mean interval of 3.5 years until the last birth at the mean age of 40.3 years. The total fertility rate was 8 births/woman, but fewer than 5 children survived to their 15th birthday (NMAT). Among children aged under 5 years, death rates were always higher for SBIs. The frequency of deaths among SBIs exceeded that of survivors among SBIs. The mortality rate of the preceding child was higher than the index child among SBIs at any parity. The link between a high death rate and SBI decreased from the second parity rank. Findings do not support replacement behavior as the reason for SBIs. Child survival to NMAT was moderately, significantly, inversely related to mean inter-birth interval length. SBIs enhanced reproductive success. The efficiency of the reproductive process increased as birth intervals grew. The two behaviors may be successive steps of the same reproductive adjustment to precarious life conditions among traditional Berber peasants, and an efficient mode of gene transmission. Language: English Keywords: MOROCCO | RESEARCH REPORT | SURVEYS | BIRTH INTERVALS | RURAL POPULATION | WOMEN | FAMILY SIZE, DESIRED | CHILD SURVIVAL | HIGH FERTILITY POPULATION | NATURAL FERTILITY | Developing Countries | Africa, Northern | Africa | Sampling Studies | Studies | Research Methodology | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Population Characteristics | Family Size | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Survivorship | Length of Life | Mortality Document Number: 140576 |
| 14. Title: [Births at the full moon and other demographic oddities] Les naissances de la pleine lune et autres curiosites demographiques. Author: Sandron F Source: Paris, France, L'Harmattan, 1998. 175 p. (Collection Populations) Abstract: In this work, which is designed for the general public, the author examines a number of broad demographic themes. These include the decline of fertility in Europe, polygamy in Africa, the limits on human life expectancy, differences in life expectancy by sex, the cycles and rhythms that affect births, natural fertility, Malthusianism, birth control, optimum population, and eugenics. (ANNOTATION) Language: French Keywords: GLOBAL | POPULATION DYNAMICS | FERTILITY DECLINE | EUROPE | AFRICA | POLYGAMY | LIFE EXPECTANCY | DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY | SEX FACTORS | CYCLIC ANALYSIS | FERTILITY | NATURAL FERTILITY | FAMILY PLANNING | OPTIMUM POPULATION | EUGENICS | MALTHUSIANISM | Demographic Factors | Population | Fertility Changes | Developed Countries | Developing Countries | Marriage Patterns | Marriage | Nuptiality | Length of Life | Mortality | Population Characteristics | Research Methodology | Population Size | Genetics | Biology | Population Theory | Demography | Social Sciences Document Number: 257354 |
| 15. Title: Biological and behavioral factors influence group differences in prolactin levels among breastfeeding Nepali women. Author: Stallings JF; Worthman CM; Panter-Brick C Source: American Journal of Human Biology. 1998;10(2):191-210. Abstract: The biological and behavioral factors associated with population differences in fertility were investigated in a cross-sectional study of two natural fertility Nepali groups: the land-holding agropastoralist Tamang and the land-poor blacksmith Kami. Previous research (1982-83) had found that Tamang experience longer postpartum amenorrhea and inter-birth intervals than Kami, in spite of similar breast feeding and weaning patterns and higher workload-related energy expenditures. Enrolled in the August 1991 study were 71 breast-feeding women from four hamlets. Prolactin levels were measured in serum specimens collected 5, 30, and 50 minutes after a timed nursing episode. These determinations indicated that Tamang mothers have higher average prolactin levels than Kami for as long as 22 months postpartum. While Tamang breast-feeding mothers sustain average prolactin levels above those of nonpregnant, nonlactating women for nearly 2 years, prolactin levels among Kami breast-feeding mothers decline to levels found in nonpregnant, nonlactating women after only 1 year postpartum. The higher prolactin levels among Tamang were independent of maternal age, body mass index, maternal weight or height, and infant age. Moreover, the rate of decline in prolactin from 5 to 50 minutes after suckling was significantly greater for Kami than Tamang. The odds of having ceased lactational amenorrhea were 5 times higher for Tamang and Kami mothers with lower prolactin levels (10 ng/ml or less). These findings suggest that there are population differences in the pathways by which proximate determinants exert their effects on fertility. Language: English Keywords: NEPAL | RESEARCH REPORT | CROSS SECTIONAL ANALYSIS | BREASTFEEDING | LACTATION | NATURAL FERTILITY | POSTPARTUM AMENORRHEA | BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS | ETHNIC GROUPS | PROLACTIN | INTERMEDIATE VARIABLES | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Research Methodology | Infant Nutrition | Nutrition | Health | Maternal Physiology | Physiology | Biology | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Puerperium | Reproduction | Cultural Background | Population Characteristics | Pituitary Hormones | Hormones | Endocrine System Document Number: 133393 |
| 16. Title: The ecology of low natural fertility in Ladakh. Author: Wiley AS Source: JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE. 1998 Oct;30(4):457-80. Abstract: This study offers an explanation of low fertility among a natural fertility population in Ladakhi region, Jammu-Kashmir state, India. Ladakhi is an isolated, mountainous Himalayan high altitude region with an arid climate, low oxygen levels, and variation in temperature. Data were obtained from the 1981 Census of India, two surveys, and samples among multi- and primiparous women in 1990 and postpartum women during 1990-94. Hypotheses are examined with proximate determinant models of Bongaarts (1978) and Wood (1994). There is a long tradition of polyandry that limits women's access to marriage. In 1981, two surveys indicate that the average number of children ever born was 4.2-4.5 in Zangskar. Census findings indicate that the total marital fertility rate in the preceding year was 4.15 births/woman. Fertility was higher in Kargil district among older ever-married women and among urban Kargil women. Average marriage age was 19.6 years. Prolonged or intensive breast-feeding was not observed during fieldwork. Birth intervals averaged 2.95 years. Neonatal mortality rates averaged about 15%; infant mortality rates averaged about 19%. In 1990, records indicate that 23.5% of women had experienced at least 1 abortion or stillbirth. Rates of nulliparity among married women were high at 10%. Low fertility may be due to ecological factors that have direct effects on reproduction or are mediated through behavior, such as sexual activity or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially in Leh district. The most likely reason is compromised ovarian function due to marginal nutrition or STDs. Language: English Keywords: INDIA | RESEARCH REPORT | AGE SPECIFIC FERTILITY RATE | LOW FERTILITY POPULATION | NATURAL FERTILITY | FERTILITY DETERMINANTS | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Fertility Rate | Birth Rate | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population Document Number: 139413 |
| 17. Title: Contraception in three Chibcha communities and the concept of natural fertility. Author: Sainz de la Maza Kaufmann M Source: CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY. 1997 Aug-Oct;38(4):681-7. Abstract: This study uses data from three Chibcha communities in Costa Rica that have not yet undergone a demographic transition to explore the hypothesis that the high pretransition or current fertility of traditional populations reflects a social, economic, and cultural choice rather than the absence of the concept of controlling fertility. Data were collected in September-November 1992 and February-April 1993 through interviews with 320 women from three groups that exhibited varying degrees of contact with Western society (Guaymi was the most isolated, Huetar the most accessible, and Bribri-Cabecar intermediary). It was found that the three groups behaved in significantly different ways with regard to contraceptive use but that only 16.1% of the Guaymi, 25.8% of the Bribri-Cabecar, and 41.9% of the Huetar had used contraception. The most frequently used method in each community was oral contraceptives, and the Guaymi began to use contraceptives at an earlier age than women in the other groups. No significant different existed between the practice of modern or traditional contraception, the use of different methods, or medical supervision between the premenopausal and postmenopausal women. However, the postmenopausal women more likely used traditional methods while the younger women favored modern methods. It was also found that women who started having children at an older age maintained their reproductive capacity until 6 years before menopause while those who started having children earlier stopped reproduction 12 years before menopause. It is concluded that these findings point to the need to revise the concept of natural fertility. Language: English Keywords: COSTA RICA | RESEARCH REPORT | SURVEYS | INDIGENOUS POPULATION | RURAL POPULATION | NATURAL FERTILITY | CONTRACEPTION | TRADITIONAL MEDICINE | FERTILITY DETERMINANTS | POSTPARTUM AMENORRHEA | Developing Countries | Central America | Latin America | Americas | Sampling Studies | Studies | Research Methodology | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Family Planning | Medicine | Health Services | Delivery of Health Care | Health | Puerperium | Reproduction Document Number: 129693 |
| 18. Title: Contraception and "natural" fertility in America. Author: Bledsoe C Source: POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW. 1996;22 Suppl:297-324. Supplement title: Fertility in the United States: new patterns, new theories, edited by John B. Casterline, Ronald D. Lee, Karen A. Foote. Abstract: This book chapter uses insights from African ethnography about natural fertility in order to achieve greater insights into the meaning of reproduction and contraception in the US. The comparison of contraception among Gambian and American women reveals much similarity in women's greater concern for infertility than for high fertility. Contraception is used for securing proper timing and circumstances for "planning wanted" children. The US media does not clearly identify contraception as fertility control. Gambian women also disassociate contraception from birth control. The author wonders how many women view contraception as devices to reduce their fertility. The natural fertility population in Gambia knows that Western contraceptives can be used to limit fertility, but their focus is on "secondary potentials." US women discuss contraception as if it were disconnected from sex, pregnancy, and birth and focus on contraception and "secondary potentials" and side effects. US women are concerned about a lack of children and infertility rather than about high fertility, when the prevailing fertility pattern also favors large proportions of intended pregnancies. Theoretical frameworks for understanding contraceptive use focus either on the burden of children or women's natural control over childbearing. Qualitative cultural information reveals that Ghanaian women's concern about the long-term fitness for childbirth had a greater impact on contraceptive behavior than desires to limit children. A review of books in bookstores in the US reveals little on contraception as a means of achieving low fertility. Popular books focus on contraception for managing relations with men and spontaneity of sexual relations. These concerns may well translate to long-term contraceptive choices that reduce the risk of unwanted infertility. Sterilization and abortion are the preferred methods for limiting fertility. Language: English Keywords: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | GHANA | LITERATURE REVIEW | CONTRACEPTION | NATURAL FERTILITY | ANTHROPOLOGY, CULTURAL | Developed Countries | North America | Americas | Developing Countries | Africa, Western | Africa, Sub Saharan | Africa | Family Planning | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Anthropology | Social Sciences Document Number: 119714 |
| 19. Title: Differential fertility and body build in ]Kung San and Kavango females from northern Namibia. Author: Kirchengast S; Winkler EM Source: JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE. 1996 Apr;28(2):193-210. Abstract: This 1987 study examines the relationship between women's body build and differential fertility among a sample of noncontracepting ]Kung San (85 women) and Kavango (85 women) women from northern Namibia and southern Namibia, respectively. The ]Kung San are still hunters and gatherers, while the Kavangos survive on cattle pastoralism, agriculture, and fishing. All women in the sample were measured according to the methods described by Knussmann (1988). Measurements included 26 head and body measures, body mass, a body fat index, and more measures of body type and body proportions. Z-scores were used to normalize all fertility measures and some anthropometric measures. Findings indicate that the Kavango females had significantly higher mean absolute body dimensions than the ]Kung San females, with the exception of head size. ]Kung San females had higher scores only for the mandible width-facial height index, the forehead-face width index, the jugomandibular index, the nasal index, and the nose-face height and width indexes. Kavango females had more children, more sons and daughters, and more living children than the ]Kung San females. Taller, heavier, and more robust females had significantly fewer living and dead children, particularly male children. Females with a small, broad, low face had more children than females with a more adult body form. Females with a higher Quetelet index, body mass index, and index of corpulence had fewer children and fewer living children, but more dead children, especially dead sons. Negative correlations with fertility were found with the facial height factor and the ear length-pelvic breadth factor. Positive correlations occurred between fertility variables and the facial breadth factor, the hand-foot factor, the head length-head breadth factor, the ear breadth factor, and the labial height factor. There were similar correlations between anthropometric measures and fertility measures among both ethnic groups. Age was unrelated to fertility outcome and body build. Language: English Keywords: NAMIBIA | RESEARCH REPORT | DIFFERENTIAL FERTILITY | ETHNIC GROUPS | BODY WEIGHT | BODY HEIGHT | NATURAL FERTILITY | MATE SELECTION | ANTHROPOMETRY | FACTOR ANALYSIS | MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS | Africa, Southern | Africa, Sub Saharan | Africa | Developing Countries | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Cultural Background | Population Characteristics | Physiology | Biology | Marriage | Nuptiality | Measurement | Research Methodology | Data Analysis Document Number: 114782 |
| 20. Title: IUSSP activities. Committee on Historical Demography. Report: Conference on Asian Population History, Taipei, Taiwan, 4-8 January 1996. Author: Osirike AB Source: IUSSP NEWSLETTER / BULLETIN DE LIAISON. 1996 May;(55):12-20. Abstract: This article presents an overview of the Asian Population History Conference held in Taipei, Taiwan, January 4-8, 1996. 41 papers were presented on seven themes: Asian population growth, epidemiological transition and public health, mortality trends in pretransitional populations, marriage patterns and demographic systems, fertility levels and trends in pretransitional Asian populations, migration and population distribution, and family systems. Papers were presented by Anthony Reid; Chris Wilson; Bruce Fetter; Sumit Guha; Sheila Zurbrigg; Timothy Dyson and Monica Das Gupta; Cameron Campbell; Robert Shepherd; Ann Jannetta; Chai-Bin Park, Eise Yokoyama, and Sadahiko Nozaki; Peter Boomgaard; Jose Antonio Ortega Osona; Osamu Saito; Ts'ui-jung Liu and Shi-yung Liu; Wen Shang Yang; Dallas Fernando; Bruce Caldwell; A. Francis Gealogo; S. Irudaya Rajan; Kiyoshi Hamano; Guo Songyi; Wang Feng and James Lee; Christopher Langford; Terence H. Hull; Paul K.C. Liu; Xizhe Peng and Yangfang Hou; Ken'ichi Tomobe; Nokiro O. Tsuya; Peter Xenos; Daniel Doeppers; Chaonan Chen and Su-fen Liu; Jiang Tao; Akira Hayami and Emiko Ochiai; Arthur P. Wolf and Chuang Ying-chang; Myron L. Cohen; Burton Pasternak; Zhongwei Zhao; Li-shou Yang, Arland Thornton, and Tamara Hareven; Chi-chun Yi and Yu-hsia Lu; Lai Huimin; Ding Yizhuang; and John Caldwell, who chaired the concluding session. John Caldwell concluded that the conference provided an impressive collection of findings on Asian population history. There was much more research possible, particularly research based on India's rich historical data archives. Research was needed to confirm the assertion that Asian mortality transition began after the two world wars. A focus on natural family planning methods used prior to the transition was suggested. International Union for Scientific Study of Population Committee Chairman David Reher suggested multidisciplinary research on Asian differences in fertility, mortality, and migration. Hayami and Ts'ui-jung Liu were honored. There were 8 papers on Southeast Asia, 4 with a comparative analysis, 6 each on Indonesia and Japan and the Philippines, and 11 on Taiwan, mainland China, and other areas. 16 persons, who were discussants in all the sessions, focused on the quality of data, methodology, and analysis, and relevance to the conference and Asian population history. Language: English Keywords: ASIA | CONFERENCES AND CONGRESSES | ANTHROPOLOGY | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | POPULATION GROWTH | COLONIALISM | EPIDEMIOLOGY | PUBLIC HEALTH | MORTALITY CHANGES | NATURAL FERTILITY | MIGRATION | POPULATION DISTRIBUTION | FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS | Developing Countries | Social Sciences | Demography | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Political Systems | Health | Mortality | Fertility | Geographic Factors | Family and Household Document Number: 115417 |
| 21. Title: A waiting time distribution for the first conception and its application to a non-contracepting traditional society. Author: Nath DC; Land KC; Singh KK Source: GENUS. 1995 Jan-Jun;51(1-2):95-103. Abstract: This paper provides a description of a probability model for determining the time to first birth for a finite marital or cohabitation duration in a traditional society with early marriage and in an advanced society with delayed childbearing due to contraception. The model generates estimates for fertility parameters, such as the risk of conception, the risk of ovulation or withdrawal from using contraception, and the proportion of adolescent sterile females or couples using contraception. The model assumes homogeneity of risk of conception and a one-to-one correlation between conception and live birth. The model has the potential for further adjustment by incorporating a Pearsonian type III distribution and/or abortion as another possible outcome of a conception that may follow a geometric distribution pattern. The model is applied to data from 3931 rural households in Eastern Uttar Pradesh in India in 1987. None of the couples used contraception before the birth of the first child. The minimum chi square method is used to estimate the expected frequencies of important parameters in the model (the adolescent sterile group, the time spent by a woman in the adolescent sterility state in an exponential distribution, and the time spent in the ovulating state before conception in an exponential distribution). Findings indicate that the proposed model provides a good fit to the distribution of waiting time to first conception for marriage cohorts I and II. Findings indicate that it took 1.65 years and 1.54 years for women in the respective cohorts to reach the state of ovulation after marriage and 2.38 years and 1.72 years to reach first conception after ovulation. A comparison of this study's estimates with Talwar's estimates of nonfecund females shows, respectively, 74% and 78% of females aged 12-14 years being nonfecund in cohort I. 56% of study participants aged 15 in cohort II were estimated to be nonfecund compared to only 40% in Talwar's estimates. Language: English Keywords: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES | INDIA | THEORETICAL MODELS | NATURAL FERTILITY | FIRST BIRTH INTERVALS | MATERNAL AGE | Asia, Southern | Asia | Research Methodology | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Birth Intervals | Fertility Measurements | Parental Age | Age Factors | Population Characteristics Document Number: 115159 |
| 22. Title: Coitus interruptus and the control of natural fertility. Author: Santow G Source: POPULATION STUDIES. 1995 Mar;49(1):19-43. Abstract: Although coitus interruptus is rarely practiced in Northern or Western Europe, it was key to the fertility transitions of many Western countries and was in common use in all European countries during at least the early decades of the 1900s. The author considers the possibility that coitus interruptus was also of importance in earlier centuries. This possibility is of interest with regard to charting the histories of contraception and fertility decline, and how coitus interruptus grew to be of such critical importance in Western fertility decline. The author outlines the evolution of the concept of natural fertility and its applications, stressing that populations whose members took steps to delay births, without attempting to limit their number, would still exhibit natural fertility. She examines possible motivations for pre-transitional fertility control within marriage and pulls together evidence that such control was sometimes exerted. The author then considers the possible means of control. It is stressed that while both sexual abstinence and abortion were no doubt important, coitus interruptus was another major option. In demonstrating continuity of knowledge, and probably use, of this coitus interruptus, the author was led to reconsider broader issues of theories of fertility decline, of continuity with the past, and of the considerable diversity in the patterns and mechanisms of human reproductive behavior. Language: English Keywords: HISTORICAL REVIEW | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | FAMILY PLANNING | WITHDRAWAL | NATURAL FERTILITY | Demography | Social Sciences | Family Planning, Behavioral Methods | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population Document Number: 109496 |
| 23. Title: Regulating reproduction in India's population: efforts, results, and recommendations. Author: Srinivasan K Source: New Delhi, India, Sage Publications, 1995. 329 p. Abstract: "This book is an attempt to understand the nature of the efforts that have been put into the Indian family planning program, the results achieved at state and national levels, and the implications of successful experiences within the country that may help to make the program more effective." Following a description of the development of population policies and programs in the country in general, there are chapters on natural fertility and nuptiality; demographic and developmental changes; the acceptance and use of contraception; modernization, contraception, and fertility decline; and case studies of three states where the fertility transition has been successfully achieved, Goa, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. A final chapter summarizes some critical issues and recommendations. (EXCERPT) Language: English Keywords: INDIA | FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMS | POPULATION POLICY | FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM EVALUATION | NATURAL FERTILITY | NUPTIALITY | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | CONTRACEPTIVE USAGE | FAMILY PLANNING ACCEPTORS | MODERNIZATION | CONTRACEPTION | FERTILITY DECLINE | CASE STUDIES | RECOMMENDATIONS | Asia, Southern | Asia | Developing Countries | Family Planning | Programs | Organization and Administration | Social Policy | Policy | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Economic Factors | Social Change | Fertility Changes | Studies | Research Methodology Document Number: 250893 |
| 24. Title: Age of mother at last birth in two historical populations. Author: Desjardins B; Bideau A; Brunet G Source: JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE. 1994 Oct;26(4):509-16. Abstract: The study of the cessation of childbearing in natural fertility populations has yielded mixed results. This study examined the physiological and social factors affecting the maternal age at last birth before and during fertility transition. Data were obtained from linked registries of baptisms, marriages, and burials compiled at the University of Montreal. The data set of 2226 women born between 1624 and 1715 included the entire French Canadian population living in the Province of Quebec between 1608 and 1765 for births and 1799 for deaths. This time period corresponded to a natural fertility regimen, and toward the end of the period the youngest had begun spacing of the last birth interval. Another data set of 994 women born before 1900 pertained to four French villages of Haut-Jura from 1680 through the French fertility transition. The sample included only women with an exact birth date, a first marriage, and the last child born being born around the age of 30 years. The Canadian women had a mean and median age of marriage of 21 years and a mode of 19 years. Early marriage was prevalent, and 50% of births occurred after 1694. About 50% of women had 8-12 children, with the average being 11 children; the highest number was 20 or more. The French women spanned 2.5 centuries and the mean was the year 1800. The average marriage age was 23.7 years and the average number of children was 6; 14 children was the highest number. The results showed that the French Canadian women bore their last child at an average age of 41.5 years compared to 39.5 years for the French women. The age at last birth declined over time in the French sample to below 38 years after 1840. The French Canadian sample showed 50% of women ending childbearing around the age of 40 years and 70% of women doing so in the 37-44 age span. Marriage age was unrelated to last birth in the Quebec sample, and length of first birth interval was unrelated in either sample. The French sample showed that age at last birth increased with age at marriage, thereby suggesting stopping behavior. Mothers with 4 children at the age of 35 years had their last child a year later than those with 3 children. Age at last birth was not related to daughter's age at last birth. Stopping behavior was more related to age than norms about appropriate numbers of children. Language: English Keywords: CANADA | FRANCE | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | MATERNAL AGE | FIRST BIRTH | DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION | MARRIAGE AGE | PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS | NATURAL FERTILITY | REPRODUCTIVE AGE | North America, Northern | Americas | Developed Countries | Europe, Western | Europe | Demography | Social Sciences | Parental Age | Age Factors | Population Characteristics | Demographic Factors | Population | Pregnancy History | Fertility Measurements | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Marriage Patterns | Marriage | Nuptiality | Behavior | Reproduction Document Number: 102186 |
| 25. Title: Natural fertility and family limitation in Roman marriage. Author: Frier BW Source: CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY. 1994 Oct;89(4):318-33. Abstract: Family limitation is a form of birth control in which married couples stop procreating after they reach what they perceive to be a sufficient number of children. Family limitation is therefore a parity-related form of fertility control. In developed nations of the modern world, family limitation is most commonly achieved through contraception and, to a lesser extent, abortion, and it is often accompanied by deliberate birth spacing and other efforts at planned parenthood. Some scholars posit that ordinary couples in the ancient Roman world anticipated such modern behavior. All reliable comparative evidence, however, indicates that no general population practiced family limitation before the modern fertility transition. Ancient Rome was no exception. He discusses the fertility transition from natural fertility to family limitation, marital fertility in Roman Egypt, and John Riddle's hypothesis that chemical birth control agents were readily available in the ancient world and that family limitation was practiced by the lower classes. Language: English Keywords: EGYPT | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | NATURAL FERTILITY | MARITAL FERTILITY | BIRTH LIMITING | Africa, Northern | Africa | Developing Countries | Demography | Social Sciences | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Planning Document Number: 109379 |
| 26. Title: Preference for sons and daughters in Benighat, Nepal: implications for fertility transition. Author: Niraula BB; Morgan SP Source: [Unpublished] 1994. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Miami, Florida, May 5-7, 1994. [2], 29, [1] p. Abstract: Anthropological and survey data on 719 women aged 15-54 years from the Benighat Survey, 1988-89, are used to examine son preference in the central region of Nepal. The region has been in the process of social change since the 1970s. Its roads are linked to Kathmandu, and agricultural produce is marketed. Tourism is also an industry. In 1988, there was no electricity, but, by 1994, a few houses had electricity, and movies were available for the price of admission. The findings indicated that the most important to least important reasons for desiring a son were for old age support (38.9%), lineage (35.3%), religious reasons (9.5%), labor reasons (8.5%), and companionship (7.8%). The ranked reasons for having daughters were for religious reasons (41.6%), household help (22.5%), lineage (15.2%), companionship (13.4%), and old age security (7.4%). Responses revealed strong son preference; women were more likely by a factor of six to desire more sons, but there was an increased tendency by a factor of 3.2 to choose one boy and one girl. Very few desired no girls. Most wanted two or more boys and one or two girls. Satisfaction with a given number of children did not occur when women had only two daughters. When there were sons, the odds of satisfaction were higher. In the logistic model, the odds of being satisfied were greater with one son and a daughter and with two sons by 8.8 and 5.5 times, respectively. The odds of being satisfied were greater by 5.5 times for those with at least two sons and one daughter or son. Contraceptive use was 70% more likely among those with three children, of which at least two were sons. Son preference was likely across caste and landholding groups. The findings supported prior results reported by Karki, but the conclusions drawn were different. Karki believed that fertility could still be reduced in the presence of sex preferences. This study concluded that sex preference becomes more important when fertility is controlled. Language: English Keywords: NEPAL | SEX PREFERENCE | SONS | OLD AGE SECURITY | INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSFERS | SOCIAL CHANGE | POPULATION CONTROL | NATURAL FERTILITY | DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION | Developing Countries | Asia, Southern | Asia | Value Orientation | Psychological Factors | Behavior | Family Relationships | Family Characteristics | Family and Household | Microeconomic Factors | Economic Factors | Population Policy | Social Policy | Policy | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population Document Number: 095512 |
| 27. Title: Before the transition: fertility in English villages, 1800-1880. Author: Reay B Source: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE. 1994 May;9(1):91-120. Abstract: "This paper, which employs the technique of family reconstitution, examines patterns of marital fertility in three adjoining rural Kent parishes during the period 1800-1880: charting age at marriage, age-specific marital fertility, levels of natural fertility, and evidence for family limitation....This rural evidence suggests that the English natural fertility regime was not as 'homogenous' as has been assumed, and that the onset of the transition may have to be pushed back from the 1870s and 1880s to the 1830s. This paper does not overturn the interpretation of rapid demographic change from the 1880s, but it does suggest that the orthodoxy of an almost overnight change in mentality and behaviour needs to re-thought." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND GER) (EXCERPT) Language: English Keywords: UNITED KINGDOM | FAMILY RECONSTITUTION | HISTORICAL REVIEW | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | MARITAL FERTILITY | COMPARATIVE STUDIES | MARRIAGE AGE | AGE SPECIFIC FERTILITY RATE | NATURAL FERTILITY | FAMILY PLANNING | CRITIQUE | REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR | United Kingdom | Europe, Western | Europe | Developed Countries | Family Research | Family and Household | Demography | Social Sciences | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Studies | Research Methodology | Marriage Patterns | Marriage | Nuptiality | Fertility Rate | Birth Rate | Fertility Measurements Document Number: 240741 |
| 28. Title: Changes in fertility relative to starting, stopping, and spacing behaviors in a migrating Mennonite community, 1775-1889. Author: Stevenson J; Everson P; Rogers L Source: SOCIAL BIOLOGY. 1994 Spring-Summer;41(1-2):83-95. Abstract: Age specific fertility rates among Mennonites are examined and compared with fertility rates of the Ohio Amish, Hutterites, English parishes, Bavarian parishes, and US women. Data are developed from church registries of fertility during 1725 and 1924. During 1725-1821, records pertain to Prussian births; during 1822-74, to Russian births; and during 1875-1924, to American births. Results indicate low fertility as 1.19-2.72 for controlled fertility populations and 4.14-5.29 for natural fertility populations. Fertility peaked for women aged 15-19 years, with the exception in the period 1850-74. Fertility was at least 4.0 after 1775. The total marital fertility ratios for women aged over 30 years ranged from 38% to 59%. Parity progression ratios were high throughout the age span for all cohorts; slight declines appeared in the cohort of women born during 1875-99, who had later age at marriage and married husbands of the same age. The mean age of husbands increased over the entire study period and averaged 2 years older than wives. Birth intervals did not show much variation during the study period, but average time from first marriage to first birth did show some change. There were decreases in birth interval after the Prussian period from 50.4 months during 1775-84 to 32.3 months during 1875-99. The proportion of women with no children increased after the last Prussian period (1725-1824) from 15% to 22.3% in the early US period (1875-99). The proportion of women with small families was 34% in the Prussian period, followed by a decline to 16% and 28% in the Russian period and then an increase to 35% for the US period. The proportion with 7 or more children also varied, but eventually declined to 16.5% for US born women. The most fertile period was the late Russian period of 1850-74, which was characterized by low mean age at marriage and long reproductive periods and relatively good economic conditions. The highest fertility was between 1850 and 1899. Fertility of Mennonite women with 7 or more children was closest to the fertility of Amish and Mennonite women born between 1825 and 1848. Fertility declined for these high fertility women after 1875. Over the entire span, the reproductive pattern showed some women with many children and some women with few children. Language: English Keywords: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | RUSSIA | HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY | RELIGION | NATURAL FERTILITY | BIRTH SPACING | FERTILITY CHANGES | AGE SPECIFIC FERTILITY RATE | Developed Countries | North America | Americas | Developing Countries | Asia, Northern | Asia | Demography | Social Sciences | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Family Planning | Fertility Rate | Birth Rate | Fertility Measurements Document Number: 099486 |
| 29. Title: Socioeconomic mediation of birth interval duration in a Papua New Guinea population. Author: Tracer DP Source: ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 1994;709:231-3. Abstract: A probit analysis of birth intervals and supplementary feeding found that there were significant differences in birth intervals among infants of wage earners and infants of traditional subsistence foragers and small scale farmers (Au) in Papua New Guinea. The median duration of breast feeding was 43.0 +or- 1.8 months among Au and 42.7 +or- 6.2 months among wage earners. The examination of suckling data (289 suckling bouts among 15 Au and 8 wage earning mothers) found that Au infants suckled less often: 1.9 bouts per hour among Au infants and 2.8 bouts per hour among infants of wage earners. Food supplementation was offered among Au infants at 7 months and infants of wage earners at 1 month. The multivariate probit analysis of the determinants of birth interval found that maternal nutritional status had direct and important effects on the resumption of menses. A longer period of time since delivery was found to be related to an increased probability of a return to menses. Higher maternal age and higher parity were related to a lower probability of resumption of menses. Mothers whose infants received additional food supplementation were more likely to have resumed menses. A higher number of maternal skinfolds was found to be significantly related to resumption of menses, when controls were included for time since delivery, maternal age and parity, and infant supplementation. The results suggested that socioeconomic status differences in birth interval as measured by postpartum amenorrhea were related to nutritional status in a non-contracepting population. Language: English Keywords: PAPUA NEW GUINEA | INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES | NATURAL FERTILITY | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | BIRTH INTERVALS | POSTPARTUM AMENORRHEA | BREASTFEEDING | MATERNAL NUTRITION | SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING | Developing Countries | Oceania | Fertility | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Economic Factors | Fertility Measurements | Puerperium | Reproduction | Infant Nutrition | Nutrition | Health Document Number: 096523 |
| 30. Title: Dynamics of human reproduction: biology, biometry, demography. Author: Wood JW Source: Hawthorne, New York, Aldine de Gruyter, 1994. xvi, 653 p. (Foundations of Human Behavior) Abstract: "This book is an attempt to weave together the physiological, demographic, and biometric approaches to human fertility in a way that will encourage future interdisciplinary research....The book aims at answering a single question: why does fertility, the number of live births, vary from couple to couple within any particular population, and from population to population across the human species as a whole?...The particular framework I have chosen for this book is structured in terms of birth interval components and the timing of reproductive events--the pace of childbearing, as it is often called. The task at hand is to learn how the proximate determinants of fertility...affect the pace of childbearing and thereby influence the total number of offspring produced over the course of an individual's reproductive life." The focus throughout is on natural fertility populations. (EXCERPT) Language: English Keywords: GLOBAL | INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES | FERTILITY | DIFFERENTIAL FERTILITY | INTERMEDIATE VARIABLES | BIRTH INTERVALS | REPRODUCTION | TIME FACTORS | NATURAL FERTILITY | Population Dynamics | Demographic Factors | Population | Fertility Measurements Document Number: 242292 |
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