Actual Births Research Articles

Sobre el calendario reproductivo de las mujeres españolas

El autor estudia la formacion continua de los trabajadores en la industria del metal de dos regiones desarrolladas del norte de Espana. La formacion de los empleados es utilizada por las empresas para conseguir sus objetivos economicos. De hecho, las empresas donde se forma a los trabajadores estan mejor preparadas para abordar los retos de la competitividad. La creacion de unas relaciones industriales solidas hace necesario que la formacion de los trabajadores se abra hacia temas de desarrollo personal y profesional en las empresas, como la participacion, el enriquecimiento de las habilidades sociales, la mejora de las condiciones de trabajo, la concepcion de la empresa como tarea participada. De lo contrario, no sera posible superar el planteamiento economicista de los recursos humanos.

Breast-feeding and the family planning sector’s initiative in Indonesia

Breast-feeding averts an average of 28 per cent of the total potential fertility (fecundity) per woman of reproductive age in Indonesia, the fifth most populous country in the world. Contraception controls another 35 per cent, and age at marriage and other factors inhibit an additional 15 per cent of the total fecundity. Only about 22 per cent of the total fecundity is realized in actual births, representing a total fertility rate of about 3.4 per woman in 1987.

The Decline in Unwanted Fertility, 1971-1976

Focuses on trends in unwanted fertility by comparing rates derived from the 1973 and 1976 National Surveys of Family Growth. Rates of unwanted fertility have been calculated based on women at risk of unwanted childbearing controlling for the length of exposure to such risk. Three indexes are presented indicating what the experience would be in a hypothetical cohort subject to the rates prevailing during the 30 months preceding each survey. There is clear evidence of a significant decline in unwanted fertility during the 1st 1/2 of the 1970s. For married women the chances of having an unwanted birth by 15 years since the last wanted birth declined from 0.21 implicit in the 1971-73 period to 0.11 in the 1974-76 period. The cumulative number of unwanted births declined from 0.38 to 0.20 births per woman. This decline affected all subgroups (by race hispanic origin region metropolitan status education income and religion) and was roughly equally distributed throughout the social structure. Differentials continued to persist however with higher rates of unwanted fertility among blacks Hispanics and those least educated and most poor. Overall total marital fertility rates declined from 2.19 births per woman in 1971-73 to 1.91 in 1974-76. The proportion consisting of unwanted births dropped from 14.4% to 10.0%. Additionally 17.3% of actual total births experienced by the cohort married 25 years by 1976 were reported as unwanted in contrast with 10.0% for the synthetic cohort experience in 1974-76. Black women had the highest proportion of unwanted births in 1974-76 and more educated and affluent women the lowest. Without unwanted fertility recent black marital fertility would average 1.57 children rather than 1.99. The wanted fertility among whites would be 1.75. Women with less than a high school education would have 2.11 children rather than 2.52 and women educated beyond high school level would have 1.47 rather than 1.57 children.

Births Averted by Family Planning Programs

Methods of computing numbers of births averted by family planning programs are described and the important factors enumerated; in some cases mathematical formulae are shown. The simplest method is to estimate the trend in births in the total population before and after instituting the program and attribute the excess decrease in births to the program. This approach attributes positive catalytic effects and negative effects (such as better health) on birth rates to the program. The second method is to compare expected and actual births among contraceptors in the program area taking into account marital age and specific fertility. It may include bias from higher fecundity of acceptors which may be removed by ignoring the last birth or using fertility rates of the last 3 or 5 years. The third method is to compare matched study and control groups or matched pairs. The fourth method is to compare the number of couple-years (or months) of effective contraception. The estimate as used for the IUD program in Taiwan took into account pregnancy-expulsion-removal rate mortality-sterility rate accidental pregnancy and postpartum amenorrhea. Significant distortions appeared from substitutions of the IUD by other effective methods especially in women over 30. It was concluded that this computation to be valid required follow-up data on length of usage and pregnancy rate and KAP data on selective fertility of acceptors. The article ends with a discussion of the hazards of borrowing from the future that is overestimating avoided births and error inherent in the optimism of family planning administrators.