Birth spacing patterns and correlates in Shaanxi, China
Tu, P.
Studies in Family Planning 22(4): 255-263
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0039-3665 PMID: 1949107 DOI: 10.2307/1966481Document Number: 316675
Shaanxi is a relatively less developed predominantly rural inland province of China, where some 29% of the population aged 12 and over are illiterate or semi-literate. The study examines birth spacing patterns and their correlates in Shaanxi Province. It is shown that most women try to have their first birth as soon as possible after their first marriage, and that the length of the interval between marriage and first birth is strongly correlated with the woman's age at first marriage. The length of the second and third birth intervals and the likelihood of going on to have a second or third birth are strongly influenced by the sex composition of children already born, the survival time of the child initiating the interval, the duration of breastfeeding, and the woman's occuptaion. There is significant regional variation in the length of birth intervals and in the prevalence of second and third births in Shaanxi. The findings indicate that China's one-child policy is far from being universally accepted in Shaanxi, including its urban areas. The persistence of many social, economic, institutional and cultural factors promoting high fertility poses many obstacles to further fertility decline.