Modern Contraceptive Practice Research Articles

Contraception in Three Chibcha Communities and the Concept of Natural Fertility

Previous articleNext article No AccessContraception in Three Chibcha Communities and the Concept of Natural Fertility1Marta Sainz De La Maza Kaufmann Marta Sainz De La Maza KaufmannDepartamento de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Search for more articles by this author Departamento de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain.PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 38, Number 4August/October 1997 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/204656 Views: 16Total views on this site Citations: 3Citations are reported from Crossref © 1997 by The Wenner‐Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. All rights reservedPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:A. Murphy Fifty Shades of Gray Literature, (Jan 2016): 3–22.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804601-2.00002-8KENDRA McSWEENEY Distinguishing the Indigenous from the Rural Poor: Reply to Engelman et al., Conservation Biology 20, no.44 (Feb 2006): 1318–1320.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00480.xKENDRA McSWEENEY Indigenous Population Growth in the Lowland Neotropics: Social Science Insights for Biodiversity Conservation, Conservation Biology 19, no.55 (Oct 2005): 1375–1384.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00194.x

Proximate determinants of fertility in Nigeria

Data from the 1981-82 Nigeria Fertility Survey (NFS) are used to identify the key proximate determinants of fertility in Nigeria. The patterns of their individual and collective effects are analyzed in a search for possible sources of fertility change. Exposure to the risk of childbearing through first marriage is found to be the most important proximate determinant of Nigerian fertility. Subsequent to marriage, fertility is determined mainly by breastfeeding and postpartum sexual abstinence. Where fertility shows significant socioeconomic variations, there are equally identifiable patterns of the impact of the proximate determinants which explain these differentials to a large extent. On a national scale, the observed patterns of the impact of the measured proximate determinants do not appear to suggest that Nigerian fertility is soon to experience a large decline.

In Mali, Marriage Is Early, Childbearing Is Frequent and Modern Contraceptive Practice Is Uncommon

In Mali, Marriage Is Early, Childbearing Is Frequent and Modern Contraceptive Practice Is Uncommon

The Role of Traditional Fertility Regulation in Sri Lanka

Among the countries of South Asia, Sri Lanka, with a birth rate of 26 per 1,000, has achieved by far the lowest fertility level. The research reported here shows that at least half of all fertility control there is still practiced by means other than those offered by the national family planning program. This paper reports on an investigation carried out by the Sri Lankan Department of Census and Statistics, employing a micro-approach to demographic research, on the levels of "traditional" methods of family planning and attitudes toward the practice of both modern and traditional contraception. It is shown that knowledge of rhythm was diffused throughout society as the cost of raising children increased during a period when other methods of family planning were not easily accessible. These traditional methods were employed efficiently and their high level of continued use arises from strong cultural resistance to the pill and IUD, based upon local interpretations of how these methods function. Thus, any programmatic effort to reduce dependence on traditional family planning might well result in higher fertility levels. In addition, low fertility among Indian Tamil workers on the Tea Estates, as early as the 1950s, probably resulted from a desire (manifested by lower levels of sexual activity and some abortion) to avoid frequent pregnancies, since pregnancy interrupts work that the female Estate workers cannot afford to miss.

Modern contraceptive practice in rural Appalachia.

This paper examines contraceptive practice in a traditionally high fertility and economically disadvantaged rural county of central Appalachia. A key consideration is the extent to which the modernization of birth control observed nationally has diffused to and been adopted within this rural area. Data from the community study indicate that professional family planning services are, in fact, widely available and easily accessible to the vast majority of county residents. Interviews with a random sample of 407 currently married women of childbearing age, 15-45 years, revealed that 87 per cent of contraceptors were using either sterilization, the pill, or the IUD, with sterilization used by close to half of all couples practicing family planning. Moreover, this widespread use of modern contraceptives and sterilization was found among all educational and income groups.

A Note on the Determinants of Breastfeeding Durations in an African Country.

Abstract This paper utilizes data from the 1977–78 Kenya Fertility Survey, one component of the World Fertility Survey, to analyze the determinants of breastfeeding durations for women 15 to 50 years old who had their last‐but‐one live birth between 3 and 15 years prior to the interview. Comparisons are made with the findings from the World Fertility Surveys in eight other developing countries in Asia and Latin America. Findings indicate that literacy, urban residence, secondary school education, and modern employment reduce the duration of breastfeeding in Kenya. In addition, the subgroups of women who appear to be curtailing breastfeeding are growing in proportional size or are composed of women who may be innovators or leaders. A continuation of this pattern into the future may increase levels of infant morbidity and mortality and, in the absence of increased modern contraceptive practice, may increase the societal level of fertility.

A note on the determinants of breastfeeding durations in an African country.

Abstract This paper utilizes data from the 1977–78 Kenya Fertility Survey, one component of the World Fertility Survey, to analyze the determinants of breastfeeding durations for women 15 to 50 years old who had their last‐but‐one live birth between 3 and 15 years prior to the interview. Comparisons are made with the findings from the World Fertility Surveys in eight other developing countries in Asia and Latin America. Findings indicate that literacy, urban residence, secondary school education, and modern employment reduce the duration of breastfeeding in Kenya. In addition, the subgroups of women who appear to be curtailing breastfeeding are growing in proportional size or are composed of women who may be innovators or leaders. A continuation of this pattern into the future may increase levels of infant morbidity and mortality and, in the absence of increased modern contraceptive practice, may increase the societal level of fertility.

Fertility and family planning in Papua New Guinea.

SummaryData collected on fertility and family planning between November 1979 and March 1980 in eight provinces of Papua New Guinea (PNG) are presented in this report. Interviews with 2923 rural and 3360 urban male and female respondents found attitudes favouring large families. There was a relatively high level of contraceptive awareness, but the overall practice of modern contraception in both rural and urban areas is low. Despite the rural–urban differences in socioeconomic levels, awareness of family planning is only slightly higher among the urban respondents. The level of usage for the urban respondents is slightly higher than for the rural respondents.

Postpartum lactational amenorrhoea as a means of family planning in the Sudan: a study of 500 cases.

SummaryThe lactational histories of 500 Sudanese women were studied retrospectively to examine postpartum lactational amenorrhoea as a method of family planning. Particular attention was given to the factors affecting postpartum lactational amenorrhoea, including supplementary feeding and the use of modern contraceptive methods. Breast-feeding was overwhelmingly practised (90%) among this sample, which was roughly representative of the Sudanese population as a whole. The prevalence of amenorrhoea among this group of lactating women was quite high (73%). Duration of lactational amenorrhoea ranged from 2 to 36 months with a median of 12 months.Introduction of supplementary feeding had little effect on lactational amenorrhoea up to the 9th month of breast-feeding. Beyond the 12th month of breast-feeding, lactational amenorrhoea was significantly prolonged by postponing the introduction of supplementary feeding until the 4th month or later.Ovulation, and hence conception, during lactational amenorrhoea was unpredictable. It occurred as early as the 3rd or as late as the 36th month postpartum. Conceptions interrupting lactational amenorrhoea soon after delivery (3–9 months) were more frequent among primiparous women. The failure rate of lactational amenorrhoea as a contraceptive was 8·4%. Though extremely high compared to that of the pill, lactational amenorrhoea was more useful as a fertility control mechanism because, in this study, a high proportion of women initiated pill use, but soon discontinued it because of side effects. Modern contraceptive practice was not prevalent. Amenorrhoeic mothers accepted the pill after the 6th month postpartum (41%), compared to lactating mothers whose menses had returned who started it much earlier. Forty-nine percent of the women studied relied completely on the protection of lactational amenorrhoea. Fifty-seven percent of all lactating women who used the combined pill reported a reduction in milk production. There are several policy implications of this study.

Household composition, extended kinship and reproduction in Taiwan: 1973-1980.

There has been a decrease in the proportion of young couples beginning married life in Taiwan living with the husbands parents and the period of coresidence has become shorter for members of recent cohorts. Nevertheless a large majority of couples still do begin married life living with the husbands parents and most parents live with at least 1 married son. Couples who do not live with the parents are usually linked to them by visiting and remittances. The persistence of traditional family forms is greater than expected in view of the very rapid pace of other social and economic changes and the almost universal practice of modern contraception. Traditional familial forms are especially prevalent among rural farm and less educated strata. The longer the period of extended coresidence the higher is desired and actual family size and the smaller the proportion using contraception for spacing. Data used is from the Taiwan KAP-V fertility survey based on a probability sample with 3816 respondents of all married couples in which the wife was between 20 and 39 years old in 1980. (authors modified)

Intrauterine contraceptive devices: Present status and future prospects

Intrauterine devices are playing an increasingly important role in modern contraceptive practice. Although the method has been known since the turn of the century, its use remained limited until the past decade because of a general reluctance to insert any foreign material into the uterine cavity. Experience with the IUD technique in numerous clinical studies has shown that most such prejudice against the method has been unwarranted. Large-scale use of intrauterine devices has shown that many complications attributed to intrauterine contraceptives are in fact due to technical lapses during insertion, or are merely coincidental gynecologic complaints.During the past decade, over 12,000,000 women have been fitted with intrauterine devices around the world—over 3,000,000 in the United States alone. Fears that the use of IUD's carries a significant hazard of inducing pelvic sepsis or neoplasia have been dispelled by extensive clinical studies. At the same time, the incidence of side effects associated with intrauterine devices has been greatly reduced by the development of designs compatible with uterine anatomy and physiology. The unique advantages of the method are making it increasingly important in the clinical practice of contraception.Despite the many advantages of modern IUD's, however, the method cannot be considered a universal panacea. Every physician is not skilled in the use of the devices, nor is every woman a suitable candidate for the method. Observance of contraindications, careful timing of insertions and meticulous insertion technique are important factors in obtaining first class results with this, as with other birth control methods.During the early 1960's, linear coils and loops were promoted for population control, primarily because they were cheap and required little motivation to provide moderately effective contraception. In clinical practice, the poor retention and high complication rates of the older devices relegated the IUD to a secondary position in the contraceptive armamentarium. Intrauterine contraception is now achieving increasing popularity for clinical applications on the basis of the excellence and unique advantages of the method. Second generation devices have imporved retention, diminished IUD side effects and enhanced patient satisfaction. Clarification of the mechanism of action of IUD's has made possible devices approaching the ideal of virtually 100 per cent efficacy. The lack of systemic complication associated with the IUD method, combined with the excellent performance of improved devices, has today advanced intrauterine contraception to the front rank of medical methods of conception control.