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Factors Divide Fertility Between East and West Areas of Bangladesh: Implications for Further Strengthening the Family Planning Program

M. Sheikh Giash Uddin
Department of Statistics, Jagannath University, Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh

Md. Abul Kalam Azad
Department of Statistics, Jagannath University, Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh

M. G. Kibria
Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Gulshan, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data were used for the study. The results suggest that women in the East have an average of 2.34 living children compared to an average of 1.83 living children in the West. Women with all living female children are two times more likely to give births than women having at least one male child in the East. Sex preference is an important determinant of the current use of contraception in Bangladesh. In the East, women with two sons are 1.9 times more likely to use contraception than women with two daughters. The current use of contraception divides the East and West for fertility differential. It also implies that the reduction in fertility may largely depend on the increased use of effective birth control methods in the future in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Fertility, Family planning, Sex preference, Demographic, Socio economic

Location: The East and West areas of Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Resource Development and Management

Non-commodity: Social status

Objectives:

To identify the factors that differentiate total fertility rate between the East and West areas of Bangladesh and to identify the important correlates of contraceptive use in the East and West of Bangladesh.

Methodology:

The study mainly used data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2007 (NIPORT et al. 2009). The survey followed a stratified two-stage cluster sample design based on the 2001 census. At the first stage, 361 primary sampling units (PSU) are selected consisting of 239 rural and 122 urban units with probability proportional to size (PPS). At the second stage, a random sample of households is selected from each of the PSU and all ever-married women of the selected households are interviewed by using a systematic random sampling technique. Univariate and bivariate analyses are used for descriptive measures. Bivariate relationships between dependent and independent variables are examined using the Chi-square test of association. To identify the factors influencing fertility and the acceptance of family planning, binary logistic regression was carried out. Two models were estimated, in the first we estimated the use of contraception (yes = 1, no = 0) and in the second model, we estimated birth occurred three years preceding the survey as the dependent variable and various independent (demographic, socioeconomic and program) variables. In the analysis of the model, births that occurred during last three years preceding the survey is measured as dichotomous variable coded 1 if the birth occurred prior to the date of interview and 0 otherwise. Logistic regression (Hosmer and Lemeshow 1989) model is used for the analysis. The coefficient in the analysis represented an increase or decrease in the log odds of being the occurrence of birth (versus not occurrence) associated with a unit or category change in an independent variable. The mathematical model is expressed as- Ln = (P_i) / (1-P_i) = β_a+β₁x₁+β₁x₁+ ----------------β_nx_n. Where, P(Y_i =1) = p_i and P(Y_i=0) = 1 - p_i; X_i = Independent variables such as woman’s demographic, socio-economic and program-related characteristics, β₀ = Intercept term of the regression model, β_i = Regression co-efficient of the respective variable, representing the effect or association for individual characteristics.

Source of Information: Bangladesh J. Sci. Res. 26(1&2): 37-46, 2013 (December)

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The findings implied that births are occurring at relatively lower ages in the recent surveys i.e. the births are taking place at a shorter distance from the central tendency of fertility (NIPORT et al. 2009). However, the dispersion of fertility is higher in the East than that of the West. This is mainly attributed to the fact that higher-order births are more prevalent in the East than that of the West. A review of age at marriage patterns shows that over the last few decades there has been very little improvement in the age at marriage. However, although age at marriage is almost the same fertility is higher in the East than in the West. Age at first marriage is not associated with the current use of contraception in the West which is possibly due to the low age at marriage. Teenage fertility is also high in the West and its contribution to fertility is more than one-fifth of the total fertility. Availability of family planning services at outreach areas has a significant association with current contraceptive use in the West but not in the East. Supporting program effort is weak in the East than in the West. Considering as the dependent variable births in the three years preceding the survey, it has been observed that son preference is still an important determinant of birth control in the East i.e. women with one female child are less likely to be family planning users than women with one male child. This is particularly strong in the East than in the West.

Knowledge Management: Journal