Determinants of Female Sterilization in Brazil, 200112007

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the determinants of female sterilization in Brazil. The analysis is innovative because it adds the time of exposure to the risk of sterilization into survival models. The models control for postpartum duration, age at delivery, parity at delivery, place of delivery, region of residence at the time of interview, color/race, and years of schooling at the time of interview. Data is from the 2006 Brazilian National Survey on Demography and Health of Children and Women (PNDS). The strongest probability that sterilization might occur was observed among women who gave birth at private hospitals and received support from health insurance companies at childbirth. The findings suggest years of schooling do not predict the risk of sterilization. The higher chances of getting sterilized among black women are specific to the public sector at higher-order postpartum duration (interval sterilization).