Determinants of fertility in Athoor block, Tamil Nadu, India
Dutt, P.R.; Rajaretnam, T.; Sasty, K.R.; Ramanujam, C.
Fertility Determinants Research Notes 23: 10-11
1988
PMID: 12283510 Document Number: 377683
Data from at least 10 surveys of thousands of households over the period 1960-86 indicate a decline in crude birth rate (CBR) between 1959-85 from 43.1 to 25.6 in the Athoor community development block. The adjacent community development block of Batlagundu, with a higher literacy rate and level of socioeconomic development, was used as control while identifying the proximate determinants of fertility in the study areas. Socioeconomic, institutional, and programmatic factors influencing these proximate determinants were also considered. Declines in the marital fertility rate, due in large part to high age of marriage and a decline in the incidence of young widows, contributed more than other factors to the decline in overall fertility rate. Greater use of contraceptive methods from 0 to 34.2% by 1986, further stemmed fertility. These effects were tempered, however, by a shortened postpartum amenorrhea from 14 to 10 months. Beyond identifying principal proximate determinants, 2 phenomena were explored. While there was an overall decline in CBR over the period, 25.6 is not the lowers level achieved during 1959-85. CBR reached a low of 23.7 in 1980, then climbed over the next few years to its 1985 level. A strong contributing factor to this reversal in a declining trend is a decrease of family planning activities from the level experienced in the 1960s. The 2nd phenomenon is the higher fertility level, desire for larger families, and greater fertility level variation over socioeconomic groups seen in the higher socioeconomic level control block. The authors concluded that high program efficiency must be maintained in the early stages of demographic transition to stabilize against fluctuations in birth rates and contraception prevalence. Additionally, modernizing influences may also affect proximate determinants in opposing manners. Education on child spacing and motivational campaigns targeted especially to young couples should be developed to afford maximum declines in fertility.