Reproductive Performance of the Bhumija Women: An Empirical Study of a Tribal Village, Baleswar, Orissa

Abstract

This paper reflects the reproductive per-formance of the Bhumija women of a tribal village of Baleswar. Efforts have been made to find out the factors affecting fertility, such as the age at marriage, family planning practices, etc. Average number of conception, average life birth, uterine wastage and surviving offsprings are considered as reproductive measures. The study reveals that the mean age at marriage is 16 years; the mean age at first child-birth is 18.14 years. There is less number of uterine wastage and post-natal death. The average number of conception per woman is 3.87 and the average number of live births per woman is 3.28. The Bhumija population exhibits very low pre-partum reproductive loss (0.13) and post-natal loss (0.10).