The Advantages of having many Children for Women in Formal and Informal Unions in Cameroon

Abstract

In Cameroon, as in many countries in subSaharan Africa, many couples like to have a large family. Previous studies have attributed this desire to have many children to the importance of children for expanding the lineage and continuing the family name, and to the children’s contribution to the household economy and support in old age. This study expands on this research by recognizing that women in formal and informal unions are likely to have different reasons for wanting or not wanting to have many children. The analysis of data from the 1991 Cameroon Demographic Health Survey (CDHS) demonstrates that married women, women in coresidential informal unions, and women in non-co-residential informal unions have different perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of having many children. These findings are important for improving the efficiency of future population policies designed to reduee levels of fertility. The results also show that non-coresidential and co-residential informal unions are conceptually different from marriage, which strongly suggests that the reported increases in the prevalence of informal unions in many African societies indicate an important change in the African family, the implications of which are still poorly understood.