Fertility in Loja, Bolivar, Esmeraldas, Azuay and El Oro. Series: Provincial reports from the Demographic and Maternal-Child Health Survey, 1994 (ENDEMAIN-94)
Pozo Avalos, A.
Correo poblacional y de la salud 5(3): 24-29
1997
PMID: 12178225 Document Number: 316954
During the periods 1965-69 and 1989-94, Ecuador's total fertility rate (TFR) declined from nearly 7 to 3.6, while contraceptive prevalence rose from 33.6% to 56.8%. The 15 provinces of Ecuador were divided into 3 equal groups on the basis of Bongaarts' index of contraception, and their fertility characteristics were compared. The groups discussed here showed moderate differences in the index of contraception from the national average of 0.435. 4 of the 5 provinces in group II had indices higher than the national average: Loja, 0.567; Bolivar, 0.566; Esmeraldas, 0.535; and Azuay, 0.526. El Oro's index of 0.398 was lower. El Oro's TFR of 3.46 was lower than the national average of 3.61, but it still was in the third phase of the fertility transition. Although Loja and Bolivar had nearly identical indices of contraception, the TFR in Loja (4.15) was significantly lower than that in Bolivar (5.12). The TFRs were 4.66 in Esmeraldas and 3.95 in Azuay. The differences in TFRs in provinces with similar indices of contraception are due in part to different age patterns of fertility, distributions of women according to educational and marital status, and other factors. Age-specific fertility rates for women aged 15-19 ranged from a low of 65/1000 in Loja to a high of 120 in Esmeraldas. Maternal education was the single greatest observed influence on the TFR. The TFR at the national level was 6.24 for illiterate women and 2.13 for those with higher education. The TFR in the 5 provinces for women with primary or lower education ranged from 6.1 in Esmeraldas and Bolivar to 4.02 in El Oro. The differential between the most and least educated women ranged from 1.36 in El Oro to 4.27 in Bolivar. The proportion of women single ranged from 29.3% in El Oro to 48.6% in Loja. Calculation of the indices of contraception, marriage, and postpartum infertility showed, as expected, that El Oro had the most favorable indices.