Age at return marriage and timing of first birth in India's Uttar Pradesh and Kerala states
Singh, K.K.; Suchindran, C.M.; Singh, V.; Ramakumar, R.
Social Biology 39(3-4): 292-298
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0037-766X PMID: 1340047 DOI: 10.1080/19485565.1992.9988824Document Number: 572070
Data from the Uttar Pradesh Rural Development and Population Growth Survey in 1978, the Determinants of Fertility Survey in Eastern Uttar Pradesh in 1987, and the 1980 Kerala Fertility Survey were used to examine the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of fertility. Specifically, attention focused on the timing of first births in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Kerala and its relationship with age at first marriage as well as the determinants of the fertility decline. Controls were indicated for religion (Hindu, Muslim, and Christian), education (illiterate or literate for husband and wife), year of marriage (before or after 1970), work status (working or nonworking), and birth cohort ( or 25 years). Women were grouped into those aged up to 13 years of age, 14-15 years, 16-18 years, and 19 and over years. The mean age at marriage increased by .9 from 1978 to 1987 in UP, which was 2 years lower the mean age at marriage in 1980 in Kerala. In both states, mean age of marriage was lower when both husband and wife had little education, and in Kerala when women married before 1970, were nonworking, and were Muslims. The average time of first birth, without a correction for age at marriage, decreased with the increase in age from preadolescent to postadolescent in both states. The median first birth interval was 2 times as long in UP as in Kerala in every age group. Between 1978 and 1987, the median first birth interval varied by .3 months but was greater than in Kerala by 23.6-23.9 months. The overall mean birth interval in Kerala was 20.3 months. The proportion of women not conceiving within 10 years was 3% in Kerala and 10% in UP. In the proportional hazards models, the relative risk of first birth in 1978 in UP was .38, .60, and .68 for the age at marriage groups 13 years, 14-15 years, and 16-18 years. The relative risk in Kerala as almost the same. A number of reasons were given to explain the average delay in the first birth interval according to age at first marriage and the length of first birth interval. One reason was the joint family system prevalent in rural areas, where marriages are arranged and residence within the joint family limits chances for coitus.