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This paper investigates the impact on birth intervals of three distinct birth control strategies: stopping childbearing, spacing births and the postponement of further childbearing for reasons unrelated to women's family-building histories. A macro-simulation model of the family-building process is described that incorporates heterogeneity in fecundability. This model is used to demonstrate that the postponement of further childbearing has a distinctive impact on schedules of duration-specific fertility rates that differs from that of both family-size limitation and birth spacing. In particular, the simulation results, supplemented by an analytical exposition, show that reductions in fertility due to spacing are a function of interval duration and its log, while reductions due to postponement are a function of interval duration and its square. This provides a way to test statistically for the presence of, and distinguish between, differential postponement and spacing in regression analyses of birth history data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The campaign for one-child families in the People's Republic of China has created world-wide interest. This study compares the general rates of single-child families in China and in 60 other countries and shows that China's current rate (12.5) is relatively low in comparison with some developed countries, e.g. Hungary (25.0). The mean age-specific single-child rate for 54 less developed countries shows a different pattern from that for seven developed countries; this is likely to be due to the later age of marriage and longer birth intervals of women in the developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A summary of 298 male and 358 female respondents in the Lae urban area of Papua New Guinea in 1981 revealed a relatively high level of contraceptive awareness, but the level of contraceptive use is low. However, the overall current usages of non-traditional methods for the wives of the male and for the female respondents are 34–2% and 37% respectively. The male and the female respondents have the same views on the ideal family size—approximately three children. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using data collected over a 12-month period (1977–78) from more than 15,000 hospital deliveries at a single maternity hospital in Tehran, Iran, we have examined the effects of previous pregnancy outcomes, breast-feeding and contraceptive use on birth spacing. The outcomes of previous pregnancies, particularly the most recent, significantly affect the length of the pregnancy interval, and so does breast-feeding. Pregnancy outcomes influence both breast-feeding and subsequent contraceptive behaviour, and breast-feeding adds to the degree of protection against pregnancy afforded by conventional contraception. Improved survivorship increases the length of pregnancy intervals most when it results in increased use of contraception and when breast-feeding is commonly practised for extended periods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a method of estimating the number of births averted due to induced abortions by utilising the data on prospective birth intervals of the women. Numerical illustrations are given. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]