fertility Flashcards
fertility meaning
Production of a live birth
Fecundity meaning
physiological capacity to conceive (reproductive potential)
Infertility meaning
Inability to produce a live birth
Parity meaning
number of children born alive to a woman e.g. first born = parity 1
Menarche meaning
onset of menstruation
Menopause meaning
end of menstruation
Mean Age of Childbearing (MAC) meaning
AVERAGE age a woman has a child
Peak Age of Childbearing (PAC) meaning
the MODAL age a woman will have a child
what are the 3 ‘maximum fertility’ assumptions
1) Assume female menarche to menopause as ages 15-49
2) Assume 9 months of pregnancy.
3) Assume 18 months of breast feeding
- means 1 child ever 2.2 years - theoretical maximum fertility rate is 16 children per woman - could get broken e.g. russian woman had 69
what is natural fertility
- The level of reproduction that exists in the absence of deliberate fertility control
- ‘Natural’ Fertility is much lower than ‘Maximum’ fertility
Most famous “High Fertility” Society
The Hutterites
- Lived in Agrarian communities in NE US and Canada
- Doubled population 6 times in 100 years
- In 1936, TFR was 11
what are fertility characteristics in the human species
- We as a species have kept our fertility rates low to maximise care in our offspring
- Social components of fertility are much greater than the biological components
whats the crude birth rate
Number of live births per 1000 population in a given year
births (Bt) / population (Pt) x 1000
why is Crude Birth Rate not good measurement
- Some populations are not exposed to the risk of pregnancy (children, old people, men, etc.)
- Variations in the age distribution will affect the CBR
what is the General feritility rate
Number of live births per 1000 women ages 15-49 in a given year
births (Bt) / women ages 15-49 x 1000
why is General feritility rate a better measurement than Crude Birth Rate
- Relates births to the age-sex group at risk of giving births (Women aged 15-49)
- More refined than CBR, but still a rather crude metric
what is the Child/Woman Ratio
- Number of children under age 5 per 1000 women of childbearing age in a given year
- Very similar to GFR but instead of births it uses the Child Population
what is Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR)
Number of births per year to women of a specific age group, sometimes written as 𝑛𝐹𝑥
e.g. ASFR 15-19 = births / women aged 15-19 x n (year interval - would be five for this example)
what are all of the ASFRs called. what can this be used for
Fertility Schedule
Can be used for:
- comparisons of fertility behavior across ages
- comparisons of fertility over time
- comparisons of fertility across countries/populations
whats the total fertility rate (TFR)
- The average number of children that would be born to a woman in her reproductive lifetime
- It is the sum of all of the Age-Specific Fertility Rates
whats the Best single measure of fertility and why
total fertility rate (TFR)
- independent of age structure of a population
- Easy to interperate and calculate
- good to compare fertility across populations
what is Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR)
The average number of daughters that would be born to a woman in her lifetime
- GRR is just like TFR, but it counts only daughters and directly measures “reproduction” – a woman reproducing herself in the next generation by having a daughter
what is Net Reproduction Rate (NRR)
The average number of daughters that would be born to a woman in her lifetime while taking into account her risk of dying
- takes into account the fact that some women will die before entering and completing their child-bearing years
what does NRR and TFR have to be for Replacement Level Fertility
When NRR = 1.0 - Surviving women have exactly enough daughters to replace themselves in the population
When TFR = 2.1 - Survivors have exactly enough people to replace themselves in the population
**Remember, TFR does not include mortality adjustments
**Replacement Level Fertility does not imply: CBR= CDRPopulation growth rate = 0
what does Fertility Behaviors focus on
women
- If a woman never has intercourse, she will never have a baby
- A man will never have a baby, no matter what he does
what does fertility vary in
space and time
To understand why, 2 questions must be asked
How do people control fertility?
Why do people want to control fertility?
how was what fertility varied in understood
John Bongaarts in 1978 - identified 11 factors (how’s) through which any social factor (why’s) must operate
3 phases of fertility
1) Intercourse
2) Conception
3) Gestation
3 main factors within the Proximate Determinants of Fertility that John Bongaarts identified
I. Factors affecting exposure to intercourse
II. Factors affecting exposure to conception
III. Factors affecting successful births
explain the Factors affecting exposure to intercourse
Formation of unions:
1.Age of entry into intercourse
2. Permanent celibacy
3. Reproductive period spent between unions
Exposure to intercourse within unions:
4. Voluntary abstinence
5. Involuntary abstinence
6. Coital frequency
explain the Factors affecting exposure to conception
7.Involuntary fecundity or infecundity
Breast-feeding, etc.
8. Use or nonuse of contraception.
9.Voluntary fecundity or infecundity.
Medical treatment, vasectomy, etc
explain Factors affecting successful births
- Involuntary fetal mortality (miscarriage)
11.Voluntary fetal mortality (abortion)
what are the 4 Main Determinants
1) Age at marriage
2) Use / Non-use of Contraceptives
3) Incidence of abortion
4) Involuntary infecundity
6 intercourse variables
- Age of entry into intercourse
- Permanent celibacy
- Reproductive period spent between unions
4.Voluntary abstinence - Involuntary abstinence
- Coital frequency
explain the ‘Age of entry into intercourse’ intercourse variable
Permanent virginity is rate, but the longer one maintains it the lower their fertility will be
- Higher fertility results with younger childbearing ages
explain the “Permanent celibacy” intercourse variable
- Those women who never marry
- Highest permanent celibacy ever = Ireland in 1971, 18% of women aged 40-44 had never married
- Never married =/= childless
explain the ‘Reproductive period spent between unions’ intercourse variable
- Married people have more ‘viable’ sex than unmarried people
- Women who have been divorced have lower fertility than women who are married but have never divorced
- Couples in ‘long distance’ relationships have lower fertility
explain the ‘Voluntary abstinence’ intercourse variables
- Not very popular
- Uncommon, except after the birth of a child (post-partem)
- Post-Partem sex is taboo in some places for up to two years
- 37 year old woman with 5 kids doesn’t want any more. Husband says no contraceptives. Woman says no more sex
explain the ‘Involuntary abstinence’ intercourse variables
- Not very common and not very popular
- Jobs: Transportation, truck drivers, separate vacations
- Medical: hospitalization, disease, etc.
- Migration: labor separation
explain the ‘Coital frequency’ intercourse variables
- More sex = more pregnancy
3 times per week=51% pregnant in 6 months
1 time per week=32% pregnant in 6 months - Marriage, Age, and Sex
◦ 1950: Married Women aged 21-25 twice as much sex as women aged 41-45
◦ 2002: Married Women aged 21-25 have equal sex as women aged 41-45.
Why?
2 conception variables
- Breast Feeding
- Contraception
- Voluntary Infecundity
- gestation variables
- Abortion
explain the ‘breast feeding’ conception variables
- Breast Feeding prolongs post-partem amenorrhea and suppresses ovulation
◦ 2 months for women who don’t breast feed
◦ 10-18 months for women who do - Modernization reduces breast feeding
- Yet breast feeding declines as fertility declines
explain the ‘contraception’ conception variables
- Physical Methods e.g. Diaphragm, Female Condom, IUD
- Chemical Method e.g. The Pill, implants, Injections
- Breast Feeding
- Condoms
- Withdrawl
- Rhythm Method
◦ If an average couple were to spend a year doing nothing but relying upon chance to not get pregnant, there is an 85% chance they’d get pregnant
explain the ‘Voluntary Infecundity’ conception variables
Females
◦ Tubal Ligation (getting your tubes tied)
◦ Hysterectomy
Males
◦ Vasectomy
◦ Castration
3 gestation variables
Miscarriage
Abortion
RU-486 (day after pill)
explain the ‘abortion’ gestation variables
- Single most often used form of birth control in the world today
- big reason why fertility is low in many parts of the World including US, Canada, Europe, and China.
- Abortion rates increased in the US from 1973-1990, but has dropped since
what is the PERCEPTION of how more kids help
- Human lottery tickets (hey, one of them may get rich)
- Help with the Crops, house work, etc.
- Migrate elsewhere and send money home
what is the REALITY of how more kids help
- Parents usually die before kids can contribute
- In pre-modern societies, quantity was more important than quality of children
- Weak link between fertility and perceived need for old-age security
what 3 things drive fertility outcomes
1) DTT
2) Ideational or Functionalist Theories
3) Economic Theories
explain DTT as a factor that drives fertility outcomes
- Fertility will decline because you don’t need as many kids to survive (mortality driving fertility)
- High fertility is incompatible with an industrial economy (economic development drives fertility)
explain Ideational or Functionalist Theories as a factor that drives fertility outcomes
- Ideas about ideal family size
- All people want to control family size, they just don’t know how
- Different social organization leads to different fertility <- differences attributed to proximate determinants
explain Economic Theories as a factor that drives fertility outcomes
- Home Economics
Cost of children
Couple’s Income
Preferences for child vs. consumption
Preferences for quantity vs. quality
“Pigouvian Tax” - Gary Becker
explain the fertility history of India
- India gains independence in 1947 - TFR ~ 6.0
- 1952: First national population policy to reduce TFR
by providing family planning services → total failure
Lack of contraception, strong tradition of large families, difficult implementation due to overwhelmingly rural population - 1956: 2nd national population policy - focused on increasing access to family planning - fertility fell from ~ 6.0 to ~5.7
- Patriarchal family structure, strong son preference,
young age at marriage, caste differences for access,
and conservative beuraucracy
explain India fertility policies
- 1975: “The Emergency”
- India’s population nearly doubled since Independence
- Indian Health Minister coins the phrase “Development is the best contraceptive” in 1974
- Aggressive anti-poverty programs implemented e.g. education opportunities, capped lending rates
- Fertility has continued to decline – without coercive population policies
- “Westernization” continues
- Embraced Development as the means for reducing fertility - TFR falls from 6.0 in 1947 to 2.5 in 2012
explain China fertility policies
- Mao gains power in 1949 - Immediately encouraged fertility control
◦ Slogan “Later, longer, fewer.”
◦ All family planning methods were made available - TFR=5.5 in 1953 and fell to 2.9 in 1978
- Yet, 1978 is the implementation of the One Child Policy - If fertility was falling, why this policy? - probs not needed
- Without policy, fertility would have probably continued to fall - 1953-1978 fertility fell while access to family planning was voluntary – but seen as only allowed one child, may aswell make most of it, right?
- Sex Ratio at birth is skewed :( - Son preference and SRB
explain the sex ratio at birth
Sex Ratio at Birth = 105 for normal countries
Above 105 = more baby boys
Below 105 = more baby girls
110 = high
115= really high
120= really really high
what is Son preference and SRB
- Sex-selective abortion becomes very common in countries with a strong son preference
- Too many boys, not enough girls
- Son preference usually leads to higher fertility, in the absence of family planning
