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Background: spousal violence against women (SVAW) is a common form of violence that occurs within the family context, with spouses being the main perpetrators. Afghanistan has one of the highest rates of SVAW in the world, and its impact on reproductive health and fertility is not well understood. This study aims to investigate the extent to which SVAW influences the total fertility rate (TFR) of Afghan women. Methods: In this study, a regression model of discrete-time survival models was used to calculate the total fertility rate (TFR), parity progression ratio (PPRs), and average closed birth intervals (CBI) between two children. The method used in this study has its roots in the works of Griffin Finney (1983) and was further developed by Redford et al. (2010). The study population utilized the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey, and sample weights were used to ensure accurate estimates for the population of Afghanistan as a whole. Results: The study found that women in Afghanistan who have experienced SV are more likely to progress to the next parity, start childbearing faster, and continue to do so. Women who have not experienced SV tend to progress to higher parities at a slower pace during their initial reproductive years. The study also suggests that women with spousal violence (SV) experience may have slightly higher fertility rates and shorter birth intervals for certain birth orders, although the differences between the two groups are generally small. Specifically, the total fertility rate (TFR) for women who experienced SV was 6.9, while the TFR for women who did not experience SV was 6.2. Conclusions: These results provide valuable information for policymakers and public health professionals in developing effective policies and programs to address SVAW and improve maternal and child health outcomes in Afghanistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropometric markers are the most important aspect of a child's health assessment. Using large-scale nationally representative data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015–2016, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between children born to women with high-risk fertility behaviours and children's health outcomes. The sample consisted of 2,55,726 children of currently married women aged 15–49 years in India. The key explanatory variable, high-risk fertility behaviour was defined by women's age at birth (below 18 or above 34 years), birth interval (less than 24 months), and higher birth orders (four and above). The key outcome variables for assessing child health outcomes were stunting, wasting, and underweight in children aged 0–59 months. We used descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-square test and logistic regression models to analyse the objectives. Approximately 33% of children were born with any single high-risk condition in the last 5 years in India. The bivariate analysis showed that all three components of child health, stunting, wasting, and underweight, were higher among children born to women with high-risk fertility behaviour. The findings from the multivariable analysis suggest that children born with a high risk fertility behaviour were suffering from stunting (AOR = 1.30; 95% CI 1.27–1.33) and underweight (AOR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.20–1.27). In addition, children born to women of multiple high-risk categories had higher odds of stunting (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.46–1.59) and underweight (AOR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.32–1.44) as compared to children born to women with no risk. Our findings highlight an urgent need for effective legislation to prevent child marriage that would be helpful in increasing the maternal age at birth. The government should also focus on the interventions in health education and improvement of reproductive healthcare to promote optimal birth spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have suggested that improving access to family planning (FP) may improve contraceptive use and reduce fertility. However, high-quality evidence, particularly from randomized implementation trials, of the effect of FP programs and interventions on longer-term fertility and birth spacing is lacking. We conduct a nonblinded, randomized, controlled trial to assess the causal impact of improved access to FP on contraceptive use and pregnancy spacing in Lilongwe, Malawi. A total of 2,143 married women aged 18 to 35 who were either pregnant or had recently given birth were recruited through home visits between September 2016 and January 2017 and were randomly assigned to an intervention arm or a control arm. The intervention arm received four services over a 2-y period: 1) up to six FP counseling sessions; 2) free transportation to an FP clinic; 3) free FP services at the clinic or financial reimbursement for FP services obtained elsewhere; and 4) treatment for contraceptive-related side effects. Contraceptive use after 2 y of intervention exposure increased by 5.9 percentage points, mainly through an increased use of contraceptive implants. The intervention group's hazard of pregnancy was 43.5% lower 24 mo after the index birth. Our results highlight the positive impact of increased access to FP on a woman's contraceptive use. In addition, we show that exposure to the FP intervention led to a prolongation of birth intervals among intervention women relative to control women and increased her control over birth spacing and postpartum fertility, which, in turn, may contribute to her longer-term health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fertility decline characterised by inter-birth intervals remains rather slow or stall in many countries of sub-Saharan African (SSA). Non-adherence to optimal inter-birth intervals often occasioned by low prevalence of contraceptive use and high fertility desires often lead to poor maternal and child health outcomes. Additionally, information on the influence of contraception and fertility desire on interval between first and second births (SBI) is rarely available. This study therefore aimed to examine the influence of fertility desire and contraception on SBI among women in four SSA countries.Methods: We analysed cross-sectional data on women aged 15-49 years who participated in the recent Demographic and Health Surveys in DR Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa. Semi-parametric Cox proportional hazards regression was employed for the analysis at 5% significance level.Results: The median time to second birth was 34 months in DR Congo; 35 months, Nigeria; 42 months, Ethiopia; and 71 months, South Africa. About 70% of the women desired additional child(ren) and two-thirds have never used contraceptive in both Nigeria and DR Congo. The hazard of second birth was significantly lower among women who desired additional child(ren) compared to desired for no more child in DR Congo (aHR = 0.93; CI: 0.89-0.97), Ethiopia (aHR = 0.64; CI: 0.61-0.67) and South Africa (aHR = 0.51; CI: 0.47-0.55). Women who had never used contraceptive were 12%, 20% and 24% more likely to lengthen SBI than those who were current users in DR Congo, Nigeria and South Africa respectively. DR Congo and Nigerian women were about two times more likely to shorten SBI compared with their South African counterparts. Other significant determinants of SBI include ethnicity, rural residential, age and marital status at first birth, wealth and employment status.Conclusion: Findings showed differentials in the linkage between second birth interval and the desired fertility and contraception by country, demonstrating the importance of context. The contribution of these factors to second birth interval requires country context-specific attention if further decline in fertility and poor health outcomes associated with sub-optimal inter-birth interval is to be attained in SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In low-income nations, high-risk fertility behavior is a prevalent public health concern that can be ascribed to unmet family planning needs, child marriage, and a weak health system. As a result, this study aimed to determine the factors that influence high-risk fertility behavior and its impact on child stunting and anemia. Method: This study relied on secondary data sources from recent demography and health surveys of nine east African countries. Relevant data were extracted from Kids Record (KR) files and appended for the final analysis; 31,873 mother-child pairs were included in the final analysis. The mixed-effect logistic regression model (fixed and random effects) was used to describe the determinants of high-risk fertility behavior (HRFB) and its correlation with child stunting and anemia. Result: According to the pooled study about 57.6% (95% CI: 57.7 to 58.2) of women had at least one high-risk fertility behavior, with major disparities found across countries and women's residences. Women who lived in rural areas, had healthcare access challenges, had a history of abortion, lived in better socio-economic conditions, and had antenatal care follow-up were more likely to engage in high-risk fertility practices. Consequently, Young maternal age at first birth (<18), narrow birth intervals, and high birth orders were HRFBs associated with an increased occurrences of child stunting and anemia. Conclusion: This study revealed that the magnitude of high-risk fertility behavior was higher in east Africa region. The finding of this study underscores that interventions focused on health education and behavioral change of women, and improvement of maternal healthcare access would be helpful to avert risky fertility behaviors. In brief, encouraging contraceptive utilization and creating awareness about birth spacing among reproductive-age women would be more helpful. Meanwhile, frequent nutritional screening and early intervention of children born from women who had high-risk fertility characteristics are mandatory to reduce the burden of chronic malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine pathways between indicators of fertility tempo/quantum and depressive symptoms among parents aged 55+ with at least two children, using three waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Using standard regression approaches and path analysis within the structural equation framework, we also investigate whether fertility trajectories mediated the association between childhood disadvantage and later-life depression. Results provide limited support for direct influences of fertility trajectories on depression, but indicate indirect linkages for both women and men. Associations are mediated by partnership history, social support, wealth, later-life smoking, and functional limitation. Associations between childhood disadvantage and later-life depression are partially mediated by fertility stressors. Results confirm the influence of life course experiences on depression at older ages and demonstrate the interlinked role of family and other life course pathways on later-life well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overturning a generation of research, Cinnirella et al. Demography, 54, 413-436 (2017) found strong parity-dependent fertility control in pre-Industrial England 1540-1850. We show that their result is an unfortunate artifact of their statistical method, relying on mother fixed effects, which contradicts basic biological possibilities for fecundity. These impossible parity effects also appear with simulated fertility data that by design have no parity control. We conclude that estimating parity control using mother fixed effects is in no way feasible. We also show, using the Cambridge Group data that Cinnirella et al. used, that there is no sign of parity-dependent fertility control in English marriages before 1850. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a strategic framework to account for fertility choices in polygamous households. It uses unique data on fertility histories of a representative sample of co-wives in Senegal to estimate a duration model of birth intervals with individual baseline hazards. Exploiting entries and exits of co-wives as well as gender of births, empirical tests show that children are strategic complements. One wife raises her fertility in response to an increase by the other wife, because children are the best claim to resources controlled by the husband. This result is the first quantitative evidence that the competition between co-wives drives fertility upwards. It suggests that polygamy undermines the fertility transition in Sub-Saharan Africa by incentivizing women to want many children. This article is also one of the few attempts to open the black box of non-nuclear families, placing strategic interactions at the heart of household decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE If adolescent mothers are the subject of much research, little interest has concentrated upon their lives following an early entry into motherhood - especially with regard to their subsequent fertility. In this study I aim to analyse how the fertility of adolescent mothers over the life course varies from that of older first-time mothers. I compare the situations in France, where adolescent motherhood is rare, and England and Wales, which has traditionally had one of the highest rates of adolescent motherhood amongst industrialised countries. METHODS I study the reproductive trajectories of more than 72,000 women born between 1959 and 1976 following the birth of their first child using the Insee Permanent demographic sample (EDP) in France and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Longitudinal Study (LS) in England and Wales. RESULTS In both countries, the sooner a woman experiences her first birth, the more children she will have, and the youngest first-time mothers resist the norm of a two-child family. However, a higher quantum of fertility does not correspond to a rapid rhythm of childbearing. Adolescent mothers have their subsequent children at wider spaced intervals which, coupled with a higher number of children, lengthens their reproductive career. CONTRIBUTION This study contributes to the literature on adolescent childbearing by taking a longitudinal view of the fertility of women having become mothers during their adolescence. Comparing adolescent mothers to three groups of older first-time mothers offers a more nuanced approach than the traditional binary adolescent versus non-adolescent mother dichotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 30 years of longitudinal data from a nationally representative cohort of women, we study the association between breastfeeding duration and completed fertility, fertility expectations, and birth spacing. We find that women who breastfeed their first child for five months or longer are a distinct group. They have more children overall and higher odds of having three or more children rather than two, compared with women who breastfeed for shorter durations or not at all. Expected fertility is associated with initiating breastfeeding but not with how long mothers breastfeed. Thus, women who breastfeed longer do not differ significantly from other breastfeeding women in their early fertility expectations. Rather, across the life course, these women achieve and even exceed their earlier fertility expectations. Women who breastfeed for shorter durations (1-21 weeks) are more likely to fall short of their expected fertility than to achieve or exceed their expectations, and they are significantly less likely than women who breastfeed for longer durations (≥22 weeks) to exceed their expected fertility. In contrast, women who breastfeed longer are as likely to exceed as to achieve their earlier expectations, and the difference between their probability of falling short versus exceeding their fertility expectations is relatively small and at the boundary of statistical significance (p = .096). These differences in fertility are not explained by differences in personal and family resources, including family income or labor market attachment. Our findings suggest that breastfeeding duration may serve as a proxy for identifying a distinct approach to parenting. Women who breastfeed longer have reproductive patterns quite different than their socioeconomic position would predict. They both have more children and invest more time in those children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the length of birth intervals in the past and factors influencing them could help us to reveal many aspects of reproductive behavior at that time. The aim of this article is to describe the reproductive behavior in families from Jablonec (Czech lands) before the onset of the fertility transition using survival analysis and Cox regression based on individual observations acquired from family reconstitution. A usability description of these methods is the methodological aim of this article. The results show that birth intervals were affected, above all, by the survival of the previous child, birth order, and age of mother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a regression-based approach to the modelling of age-, order-, and duration-specific period fertility, using retrospective survey data. The approach produces results that are free of selection biases and can be used to study differential fertility. It is applied to Demographic and Health Survey data for Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe to investigate differential trends in fertility by education. Parity progression fell and the intervals following each birth lengthened between the 1970s and 2000s in all four countries. Fertility fell most among women with secondary education. In contrast to other world regions, postponement of successive births for extended periods accounted for much of the initial drop in fertility in these African countries. However, family size limitation by women with secondary education in Ethiopia and Kenya and longer birth spacing in Zimbabwe also played significant roles. Thus, birth control is being adopted in Eastern Africa in response to diverse changes in fertility preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, Egypt’s Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) documented an increase in the total fertility rate (TFR) to 3.5, up from a low of 3.0 recorded by the 2008 EDHS. The increase has been anecdotally attributed to the social upheaval following Egypt’s January 2011 revolution, but little is known about when fertility first began to increase and among which sub-groups of women. Using birth histories from seven rounds of EDHS (1992–2014), this study reconstructed fertility rates for single years from 1990–2013 and examined patterns of childbearing in five-year birth cohorts of women. We found that the decline in fertility reversed in 2007, earlier than postulated, plateaued and then increased again in 2013. The increase in TFR coincided with a convergence of fertility rates across education levels, and there is evidence of a shift toward childbearing at younger ages among more educated women, which may be inflating period measures of fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The transition towards low fertility has been slow in sub-Saharan Africa. Although increasing numbers of women are now using contraception, levels of unmet need for contraception remain high. And yet the dynamics of fertility are changing: national estimates have documented significant lengthening of birth intervals across the region. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to explore trends in birth interval length by residence in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, and the role of contraception in these changes. METHODS We conducted a birth interval analysis of fertility using up to six Demographic and Health Surveys from each country. We modelled age-order duration-specific period fertility using Poisson regression and calculated median birth interval lengths from the fitted rates using life-table techniques. RESULTS Birth intervals have lengthened in all four countries, most notably Zimbabwe. Urban populations now have median intervals that exceed 35 months in all four countries. The lengthening of birth intervals is associated with, although not limited to, the use of contraception. In urban areas the median birth interval among ever-users of contraception ranges between 52 and 86 months. CONCLUSIONS The increase in the length of birth intervals in Eastern Africa has been concentrated in urban areas. The trend is most pronounced among contraceptive users, but also results from unreported forms of birth control. It might become even more pronounced if access to contraception were improved. CONTRIBUTION We show that lengthening of birth intervals in Eastern Africa has resulted largely from dramatic increases among urban women and women who have ever used contraception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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BACKGROUND Support from families can reduce costs of reproduction and may therefore be associated with higher fertility for men and women. Family supportiveness, however, varies both between families - some families are more supportive than others - and within families over time - as the needs of recipients and the abilities of support givers change. Distinguishing the effects of time-invariant between-family supportiveness and timevarying within-family supportiveness on fertility can help contribute to an understanding of how family support influences fertility. OBJECTIVE We distinguish 'between' and 'within' families for several types of support shared between parents and adult children and test whether between- and within-family variation in support associates with birth timings. METHODS We use seven years of annually collected LISS panel data from the Netherlands on 2,288 reproductive-aged men and women to investigate the timing of first and subsequent births. RESULTS We find between-family support is more often associated with fertility than is withinfamily support, particularly for first births and for women. Emotional support is generally associated with earlier first births for both men and women, while results for financial and reciprocal emotional support are mixed. There is some indication that the latter kind of support positively predicts births for men and negatively for women. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that feeling supported may be more important than actual support in reproductive decision-making in this high-income setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the fertility desires and course of fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa. It states that the social science and demographic literature on family planning is not as progressed as the literature on birth spacing. It highlights the unmet need for contraceptive drugs and the low demand for contraception.

We use duration models on a well-known historical data set of more than 15,000 families and 60,000 births in England for the period 1540-1850 to show that the sampled families adjusted the timing of their births in accordance with the economic conditions as well as their stock of dependent children. The effects were larger among the lower socioeconomic ranks. Our findings on the existence of parity-dependent as well as parity-independent birth spacing in England are consistent with the growing evidence that marital birth control was present in pre-transitional populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine marital fertility patterns during the demographic transition in Korea. The demographic transition was a fundamental transformation in human societies, and has been a key topic in demographic research. However, our understanding of the demographic transition in Korea is limited, largely due to a lack of adequate data. By using individual longitudinal data drawn from the population registers in a rural Korean village between 1920 and 1977, we attempt to contribute to this literature. We first discuss conceptual and data issues, and the historical context. We then test a key exposition of demographic transition theory: an improvement in child survival was a prerequisite for fertility decline. We find that: (1) an improvement in child survival was crucial for marital fertility changes across birth cohorts; (2) the relationship between child survival and marital fertility remained stable; (3) parity-specific fertility control emerged early and birth spacing became important later as ways of limiting marital fertility; and (4) the sex of the deceased offspring became important for marital fertility. The implications of these findings for the Korean demographic transition and future study topics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article talks about contemporary fertility decline in developing countries and the contribution of changes in birth spacing to the decline which has not been broadly researched. Topics discussed include empirical evidence gathered suggesting transitional populations commonly make deliberate efforts to delay the next birth, and exceptions to this generalization which include African reproductive regimes varying from the West and a third form of fertility motivation called postponement.

Several empirical observations suggest that when women have more autonomy over their reproductive decisions, fertility is lower. Some evolutionary theorists have interpreted this as evidence for sexual conflicts of interest, arguing that higher fertility is more adaptive for men thanwomen.We suggest the assumptions underlying these arguments are problematic: assuming that women suffer higher costs of reproduction than men neglects the (different) costs of reproduction for men; the assumption that men can repartner is often false. We use simple models to illustrate that (i) men or women can prefer longer interbirth intervals (IBIs), (ii) if men can only partner with wives sequentially theymay favour shorter IBIs than women, but such a strategy would only be optimal for a fewmen who can repartner. This suggests that an evolved universal male preference for higher fertility than women prefer is implausible and is unlikely to fully account for the empirical data. This further implies that if women have more reproductive autonomy, populations should grow, not decline. More precise theoretical explanations with clearly stated assumptions, and data that better address both ultimate fitness consequences and proximate psychological motivations, are needed to understand under which conditions sexual conflict over reproductive timing should arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population projections by the German Federal Statistical Office show a likely decrease in the number of births in the 2020s. This development will be the result of a declining number of prospective mothers combined with an assumed continued low fertility rate. Given the available empirical findings prior to the 2011 census, there was no indication that a possible distinct rise in the fertility rate in the next decade would compensate for the declining number of potential mothers. However, the 2011 census led to revisions in the population size, age structure and consequently in relative fertility measures such as period and cohort fertility rates. The objective of this article is to quantify the effects of the 2011 census on these fertility statistics and to check the validity of previous findings for fertility trends on the census-adjusted data basis. A special focus is laid on analyses of the cohort fertility and the consequences of ever-later entry into motherhood on the completed fertility and on parity distribution. Using numerous findings, we will show that a continuous rise in the completed fertility in the coming two decades cannot be realised without a reversal of fertility behaviour. A greater increase in fertility from the age of 30 onwards would be necessary to offset the decrease in fertility for ages under 30 - a trend which intensified with cohort 1974 - and thereby stabilise the total cohort fertility rate at a relatively low level between 1.5 and 1.6 births per woman. A rise and subsequent stabilisation of the total cohort fertility rate at the level of at least 1.6 births per woman would, additionally, necessitate a trend reversal in the development of childlessness and distinct changes in birth timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new method to infer gender preferences from birth spacing. We apply it to Africa, where the least is known about gender preferences. We show that son preference is strong and increasing in North Africa. By contrast, most Sub-Saharan African countries display a preference for variety or no preference at all. Further analysis concludes that traditional family systems predict well the nature of gender preferences, while religion does not. Last, the magnitude of preferences is stronger for wealthier and more educated women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) on currently married fecund women who have had at least one birth during 2001–2002 and Cox-proportional hazard models, this study examines the less researched association between women's autonomy and birth-to-conception intervals in India. It also examines whether women's autonomy mediates or moderates the relationship between education and birth-to-conception interval. Our results indicate that after adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors, women's autonomy was a significant predictor of birth-to-conception intervals, with higher autonomy positively associated with larger birth-to-conception intervals. Education of women was also independently associated with longer birth-to-conception intervals. However, this study did not provide any support to the general perception that women's autonomy mediates the association between women's education and birth-to-conception interval. Women's autonomy rather than being a mediator acted as a moderator in this association. Policy measures to increase the spacing between births should emphasise not only improving the education of women but also their autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The waiting time between children births are called tempo. This phenomenon plays a crucial role in the child and mother health. The purpose of the present study is determination of factors which influence this variable of interest. A significance level of 5% and power of 80% considered to calculate the required sample size for this cross sectional study. The sample size of 124 women determined using PASS software (ver. 11.0.4). These women randomly selected of married women between 15-45 years old with at least two children, living in Irin village. We consider the waiting time between the first and the second birth in women randomly sampled from Irin village of Tehran province of Iran.The selected mothers had 364 children at the time of study. The average and standard error for the number of children were 2.940 and 1.102 respectively. 59% of the children were girl and the rest were boy.Tempo variable as an index estimated using Toki method. The lowest tempo is for 5th to 6th births (28.5) and highest is for 6th to 7th (60). Cox regression model was used to determine the significant explanatory factors. Birth of child was considered as an event and time between the first and the second event was considered as outcome in this model.According to the fitted Cox regression model, only maternal education and father's occupation were statistically significant at 5% on time to second birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Intrauterine devices are an increasingly popular method of contraception used worldwide. Currently Copper -T 380A is the preferred intrauterine device (IUD) used in Oman. It is reversible, long acting, convenient method of birth spacing and acts immediately. It provides ten years protection against pregnancy and does not interfere with intercourse and there is immediate return to fertility on removal. This method is suitable for lactating mothers as there is no effect on the quality and composition of breast milk. It is also used as an emergency contraceptive method. Effective counseling is needed for acceptance and continuation of this method. An unusual case of missing Intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) strings enclosed and wrapped in a thin transparent membrane due to intrauterine infection is reported. Reporting of this case is done to highlight the risk of pelvic infection associated with this method of contraception. Pelvic infections are largely polymicrobial and mainly linked to the insertion technique of the device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The probability distribution of parity-specific closed birth intervals in a heterogeneous population of women is obtained from Biswas' (1980) concept of gradually decreasing fecundabilities. The distribution of parity-specific last closed birth intervals and its moments of various orders are derived for a heterogeneous female population. Simulations are used to compare with models for a homogeneous female population with constant fecundability. The consideration of heterogeneity allows a better fit for empirical closed birth intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: In China, contraception is the most commonly used practice adopted by couples seeking to limit their number of children and to determine the time interval between births. Since 1980, the implementation of mandatory contraceptive strategy has reduced the fertility rate. Using large-scale data from national statistics and nationally representative sample surveys, the current study aims to assess Chinese trends in contraceptive use and determinants of choice from 1980 to 2010 among married women and men aged 20–49 years. Study Design: Since 1980, national data on contraceptive methods utilization have been gathered by the National Population and Family Planning Commission of the People''s Republic of China (NPFPC). Additionally, data from three roughly representative decennial samples (1988, 1997, 2006) of Chinese women of aged 20 to 57 years have been gathered by the NPFPC through the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Surveys in China. Results: A relatively stable Chinese mode of contraception has been established and maintained since the 1980s. This is characterized by long-term contraceptive use which is still dominant in current China. In addition, China''s total contraceptive prevalence rates remain at the highest level across the globe from 1980 to 2010. However, the overall method composition of contraceptive use within China has changed since the mid-1990s. Over the study period, the prevalence rate of sterilization increased from 30.21% in 1980 to 46.47% of married women of reproductive age (20–49 years) in 1994 and then declined to 31.7% in 2010. At the same time, intrauterine device usage increased (39.83% in 1980 to 48.15% in 2010), as did oral contraception (0.3% in 1980 to 0.98% in 2010) and condom usage (2.35% in 1980 to 9.32% in 2010). The results from the multinomial logit model show that an individual''s contraceptive choice depends not only on individual characteristics, including ethnicity, age, education level, household registration, region, number of living children and sex of the last living child, but also on the strength of family planning policies. A positive coefficient indicates that the looser the strength of family planning policies is, the more likely the individual is to choose condoms or another short-term contraceptive method. Conclusions: Long-term contraceptive use is still dominant in China. In fact, over the 30-year period (1980–2010) and in comparative world perspective, China continues to have the highest total contraceptive prevalence rate. Additionally, an individual''s contraceptive choice is jointly influenced by the strength of family planning policies and individual characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Women with BRCA1/2 mutations have a significantly higher lifetime risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. We suggest that female mutation carriers may have improved fitness owing to enhanced fertility relative to non-carriers. Here we show that women who are carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations living in natural fertility conditions have excess fertility as well as excess post-reproductive mortality in relation to controls. Individuals who tested positive for BRCA1/2 mutations who linked into multi-generational pedigrees within the Utah Population Database were used to identify putative obligate carriers. We find that women born before 1930 who are mutation carriers have significantly more children than controls and have excess post-reproductive mortality risks. They also have shorter birth intervals and end child-bearing later than controls. For contemporary women tested directly for BRCA1/2 mutations, an era when modern contraceptives are available, differences in fertility and mortality persist but are attenuated. Our findings suggest the need to re-examine the wider role played by BRCA1/2 mutations. Elevated fertility of female mutation carriers indicates that they are more fecund despite their elevated post-reproductive mortality risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the fertility behavior of migrants within the village of Sart, Belgium--that is, all of the individuals born outside the village, regardless of their place of origin, whether urban or rural. Its aim is to assess whether receiving populations differ from migrants in marital fertility behavior. The analysis accounts for both partners in a marriage, shedding light on an important group that is often absent from historical fertility research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is fertility between parents and their children positively correlated? Although the first study of intergenerational fertility was conducted more than a century ago, the number of studies remains few. Most investigators report a positive correlation between the fertility of mothers and that of their daughters, but results vary widely. The mechanism linking fertility across generations is also unclear. Early research that advanced the genetic inheritance of fecundity has given way to studies emphasizing a wide range of possible linkages, including the importance of socialization within the family, the transmission of cultural practices and socioeconomic status across generations, and the inheritance of such psychological and biological characteristics as sex drive, fecundity, and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Understanding the practice of birth spacing and factors which influence women's interbirth interval (IBI) is critical for countries like Iraq with high fertility levels. Objectives This study aimed at measuring the duration of the interval between births and determining some of the factors favored optimal spacing intervals of Iraqi women. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among ever married and having at least 2 live births 472 women during March 2008 in Al-Kadhimyia Teaching hospital. Data were obtained by interview questionnaire, included birth intervals, demographics, and fertility variables. Actual birth interval was measured and data were analyzed using a logistic regression model. Results The mean birth interval was 31.16 ± 21.56 ranged 9-228 months, and 65.6% of interbirth intervals were of less than 36 months. The multivariate regression revealed that older woman, a woman's husband higher education and having male children were the significant predictors of longer interbirth interval. Conclusions Relatively short interbirth interval found in the present study may help national health program conveying the message of optimum birth interval, with expanding education and employment opportunities for women can act as a motive for child spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birth interval pattern can be used to draw attention on the significant characteristics of reproduction and dynamics of fertility transition. The focus of current paper is to study the effect of socioeconomic, demographic and proximate determinants on the length of birth intervals for Pakistani women. Cox Regression Model is used for modeling the birth intervals. It is evident from higher order birth interval models that age of women, preceding birth interval, education of women and survival status of preceding child are major determinants of all birth intervals. In the Proximate Determinant Models, period of breastfeeding and age of women have played significant role in the determination of all birth intervals. Enhancement in women's education, discouraging gender biasness, improvement in health facilities and promotion of long breastfeeding period can be helpful in expanding the birth spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article quantifies the contribution of pre-treatment dynamic selection to the relationship between fertility timing and postsecondary attainment, after controlling for a rich set of predetermined characteristics. Eventual mothers and nonmothers are matched using their predicted birth hazard rate, which shares the desirable properties of a propensity score but in a multivalued treatment setting. I find that eventual mothers and matched nonmothers enter college at the same rate, but their educational paths diverge well before the former become pregnant. This pre-pregnancy divergence creates substantial differences in ultimate educational attainment that cannot possibly be due to the childbirth itself. Controls for predetermined characteristics and fixed effects do not address this form of dynamic selection bias. A dynamic model of the simultaneous childbirth-education sequencing decision is necessary to address it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the association between multipartnered fertility (MPF)-when parents have children with more than one partner-and depression. Random-effects models suggested that MPF is associated with a greater likelihood of depression, net of family structure and other covariates. These associations disappeared, however, in more conservative fixed-effects models that estimated changes in MPF as a function of changes in depression. Results also suggested that social selection may account for the link between MPF and depression for fathers (but not mothers), as depressed fathers with no MPF were more likely to have a child by a new partner four years later. Ultimately, MPF and depression may be reciprocally related and part of broader processes of social disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has often been argued that there are good theoretical and historical reasons to expect that deliberate birth spacing has played an important role in fertility patterns before the demographic transition. Yet, it has proved difficult to find hard empirical evidence. In this article, we propose a new model of the speed of parity progression that includes both fixed and random effects and that efficiently captures unobserved heterogeneity between couples in fecundability and postpartum amenorrhea. With this model, we demonstrate that pre-transition couples in the Netherlands indeed spaced their births during about the first ten years of marriage. In addition, we have found strong differentials in birth intervals by socio-economic position and religion. Finally, we also show how and why the model can be used with left-censored census data. ☆ An earlier version was presented at the XXV International Population Conference (IUSSP), Tours, France, July 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short birth intervals can have adverse consequences for maternal and infant outcomes. Optimal birth spacing is often presumed to be achieved through the practice of family planning and use of contraceptives, yet most of the available research does not address explicitly the contribution of contraceptive-method use to birth spacing or maternal and infant survival. We conducted a systematic literature review to assess the body of evidence linking contraceptive use to birth-interval length. Fourteen studies published in English between 1980 and 2008 met our eligibility criteria for inclusion. The findings from these studies are mixed but suggest that the use of contraceptives is protective against short birth intervals. Although results are favorable, many of the studies and methodologies employed are dated. More current research is needed to determine the impact of contraceptive-method use on birth-interval length in order to inform the promotion of family planning for reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality through birth spacing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the literature on fertility transition presumes that birth control is practiced either to limit family size or to space births. This article argues that women also use birth control to postpone pregnancy. Postponement is not synonymous with spacing. It arises when women delay their next birth for indefinite periods for reasons unrelated to the age of their youngest child, but without deciding not to have any more children. Postponement has a distinctive impact on the shape of birth-interval distributions that differs from the impacts of family size limitation, birth spacing, or a mixture of the two behaviors. Some populations, such as that in South Africa, have developed fertility regimes characterized by birth intervals far longer than can be accounted for by birth spacing. Postponement of further childbearing that eventually becomes permanent may be an important driver of the transition to lower fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If fertility reflects the choice of households, results of their choice (duration between successive births and health of the children) cannot be considered to be determined randomly. Most existing studies of child health, however, tend to overlook the effects of fertility selection on child health. This paper argues that not accounting for this selection issue yields biased estimates and it is difficult a priori to predict the direction of this bias. We find that the estimates of birth spacing on child mortality are different when we do not account for fertility selection. Additionally, the correlated hazard estimates that we present here better fit our samples than the corresponding bivariate probit estimates used in the literature. A comparison of the fertility behaviour of households in the Indian and the Pakistani Punjab highlights the differential nature of institutions on demographic transition in these neighbouring regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper intergenerational dimensions of reproductive behavior are studied within the context of the experience of a mid-sized Spanish town just before and during the demographic transition. Different indicators of reproduction are used in bivariate and multivariate approaches. Fertility shows a small, often statistically significant intergenerational dimension, with stronger effects working through women and their mothers than those stemming from the families of their husbands. These effects are materialized mainly through duration-related fertility variables, are singularly absent for variables such as age at first birth or birth intervals, and are much stronger in the case of firstborn daughters than with later siblings. There is a substantial increase in the strength of intergenerational effects during the course of the demographic transition, most visible in age at last birth and duration of reproduction (between women and their mothers), as well as in the effects working through the families of their husbands. These results underscore the on-going importance of biological dimensions of reproduction as well as the way attitudes toward reproduction are taught within the family. The changes identified in this study suggest that the transmission of values and attitudes became more important for reproductive outcomes during this period of demographic modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's family planning programs have emphasized delayed marriage and longer spacing between births. Since 1970, the fertility has declined from 6 to 1.8 births and the mean age at first marriage has gone up but the recommended spacing intervals have not been fully realized. Despite the fertility decline it is being debated among scholars whether China has completed a sustainable demographic transition or not, especially in rural areas. The aim of this study was to analyze trends in the timing and patterns of marriage and childbearing in relation to successive family planning policies. A cluster random sample of 1,336 women aged 15-64 at the time of the survey (2000) was selected in one rural county in Yunnan province. Life-table techniques were used to analyze the cumulative proportion of women marrying and having a certain number of births. Cox's hazard regression model was used to estimate the effects of various covariates on the "hazard" for a woman to have a second birth. Our findings demonstrate how childbearing patterns have changed in the direction of delayed marriage, a decreased interval between first marriage and first child, and significantly longer spacing between the first and second child. This transformation of childbearing patterns corresponds well with the requirements of the policies. Considering the characteristics of Yunnan, it seems likely that the changing fertility behavior has been more influenced by a strictly enforced family planning policy than by societal changes leading to the adoption of a new, smaller family norm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been argued that Scotland faces population ageing and decline that will have potentially serious economic and social consequences, and that the origin of these processes lie in its low and declining fertility rates. After considering alternatives to the total period rate measure of fertility, empirical evidence and theoretical argument about low fertility and its consequences is briefly reviewed. The paper argues that low fertility in general may not be the problem it is often purported to be, that Scotland has relatively high fertility, and that pro-natalist policies are neither desirable nor necessary. It suggests that low fertility and population ageing may be viewed as positive developments, and that within Europe, Scotland is distinguished more by its excess of early deaths than by any shortage of births. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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From the mid-1960s to around 1980, Sweden extended its family policies that provide financial and in-kind support to families with children very quickly. The benefits were closely tied to previous work experience. Thus, women born in the 1950s faced markedly different incentives when making fertility choices compared to women born only 15–20 years earlier. This paper examines the evolution of completed fertility patterns for Swedish women born in 1925–1958 and makes comparisons to women in neighbouring countries where the policies were not extended as much as in Sweden. The results suggest that the extension of the policy raised the level of fertility, shortened the spacing of births, and induced fluctuations in the period fertility rates, but it did not change the negative relationship between women’s educational level and completed fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether cesarean delivery is independently associated with later subfertility. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Maternity records kept for Scotland, 1980–1999. Patient(s): The study included 109,991 women who had first births between 1980 and 1984, excluding multiple or preterm births and perinatal deaths. Intervention(s): Exposures studied were spontaneous vaginal birth, operative vaginal birth, planned cesarean delivery for breach presentation, planned cesarean delivery for other indications, and emergency cesarean delivery. Main Outcome Measure(s): The relative risk of not having a second pregnancy over the following 15 years, the interpregnancy interval, and the number of spontaneous early pregnancy losses between the first and second birth. Result(s): Women who delivered by planned cesarean section for breech presentation had an increased risk of not having a second birth compared with women whose first birth was a spontaneous vertex delivery (relative risk [RR]: 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14 to 1.29). However, after adjustment for maternal and obstetric characteristics, there was no longer a strong association (adjusted RR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.15). Operative vaginal delivery (forceps and vacuum extraction) and all types of cesarean delivery were associated with longer interpregnancy intervals. There was no relationship between mode of delivery and the number of spontaneous early pregnancy losses between the first and second birth. Conclusion(s): It is unlikely that delivering by cesarean section in a first pregnancy decreases a woman’s likelihood of having a second viable pregnancy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to inhibit uterine contractility during parturition with an electrical current, which is called electrical inhibition, in the rabbit and the rat. Study design: We studied the electrical inhibition of in vitro spontaneously contracting preterm or term gestational rat myometrium tissue and in vivo spontaneously contracting uterus either directly in the rabbit and rat or transvaginally in the rat. Values for myometrial tension, intrauterine pressure, pup birth intervals, and electromyographic activity before and after electrical inhibition were compared. Results: Electrical inhibition decreased rat in vitro myometrial tension by 50%, decreased in vivo rabbit intrauterine pressure by 48%, decreased in vivo rat intrauterine pressure by 80%, and increased birth intervals (latency) by factors of 50 (direct electrical inhibition) and 20 (transvaginal electrical inhibition). All electromyographic activity parameters were reduced significantly. Conclusion: Electrical inhibition of the uterus is possible. Electrical inhibition is rapid and localized; the duration can be prolonged, and the reversibility is spontaneous. Electrical inhibition may be a new method of tocolysis in the human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the relationship between infant mortality and subsequent reproductive behaviour using data from a reconstitution of parish registers from Bejsce (1750-1968, Poland). It is expected that experience of infant death should increase the risk of subsequent parity transition due to the replacement effect. Multilevel event history analyses shows that the death of an infant significantly increases the risk of transition to subsequent birth and shortens the median duration of birth intervals among controlled fertility birth cohorts. The replacement effect is stronger at lower parities and when the previous child dies during the first 12 months of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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