Articles
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The Path to Replacement Fertility in Egypt:
Acceptance, Preference, and Achievement / Laila O. El-Zeini
This study draws upon data from the 2004 Slow Fertility Transition
survey, a follow-up to the 2003 Egypt Interim Demographic and Health
Survey, to investigate obstacles to achieving replacement fertility. To
account for the likelihood of embracing the two-child ideal, the
analysis adopts a framework with the acronym APA: Acceptance of the
two-child ideal, Preference for that ideal, and Achievement of that
preference. The framework posits a hierarchy among the three and
hypothesizes that each depends on a set of factors, including gender
stratification, economic expectations, perception of the costs and
benefits of having children, and the costs of fertility regulation. The
results indicate that son preference and the perceived low cost of
childrearing are major obstacles to the acceptance of the two-child
family. Son preference, other discriminatory gender attitudes,
optimistic economic expectations, and fear of contraceptive side effects
are associated with a low preference for and ambivalence about having
only two children. Given a decisive preference, lower socioeconomic
status and strong son preference are the major obstacles to the
achievement of the two-child ideal. (Studies in Family Planning 2008;
39[3]: 161–176) (offsite
link*)
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Domestic Violence, Contraceptive Use, and Unwanted Pregnancy in Rural
India
/ Rob Stephenson, Michael A. Koenig, Rajib Acharya, and Tarun
K. Roy
This
study examines the relationship between male-to-female physical domestic
violence and unwanted pregnancy among women in three economically and
culturally diverse areas of India. A central methodological focus of the
study is the examination of retrospective and prospective measures of
pregnancy unwantedness, contrasting their usefulness for specifying
levels of unwanted pregnancy and its relationship with domestic
violence. Data from India’s 1998–99 National Family Health Survey and a
2002–03 follow-up survey for which women in four states were
reinterviewed are analyzed, and the factors associated with the
intersurvey adoption of contraception and the experience of an unwanted
pregnancy are examined. Women who experience physical violence from
their husbands are significantly less likely to adopt contraception and
more likely to experience an unwanted pregnancy. A prospectively
measured indicator of unwanted pregnancy identifies a higher prevalence
of unwanted pregnancies than do the traditionally employed retrospective
measures and is more successful in establishing a relationship between
unwanted pregnancies and domestic violence. The results demonstrate a
clear relationship between a woman’s experience of physical violence
from her husband and her ability to achieve her fertility intentions.
The need to improve the measurement of pregnancy intendedness is clear,
and a move toward using prospective measures as the standard is
necessary. (Studies in Family Planning 2008; 39[3]: 177–186) (offsite
link*)
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Reproductive Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Differentials versus
Concentration
/ Sarah C. Giroux, Parfait M. Eloundou-Enyegue, and
Daniel T. Lichter
Within
developing countries, our understanding of reproductive inequality—how
fertility is distributed within a population—has been shaped largely by
studies of fertility differentials, a practical but partial-information
measure. In this study, we examine whether exclusive reliance on
differentials biases this understanding. Findings based on recent data
from sub-Saharan Africa show bias. We find that historical and
especially cross-country comparisons can yield substantially different
conclusions about the magnitude and even the direction of inequality
patterns and trends, depending on whether differentials or
fuller-information measures are used. For instance, the fertility
differentials associated with education have remained relatively stable
as national fertility has fallen, but inequality (as calculated by a
fuller measure) has increased. Such results underscore the value of
complementing existing studies of fertility differentials with analyses
based on fuller-information measures. The analyses also show how change
in differential fertility behavior and in the educational composition of
national populations has shaped recent variations in reproductive
inequality in the region. (Studies in Family Planning 2008; 39[3]:
187–198) (offsite
link*)
Reports
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Knowledge
and Opinions of Emergency
Contraceptive Pills Among Female Factory Workers in Tijuana, Mexico
/ Sandra G. García, Davida Becker, Marcela Martínez de Castro, Francisco
Paz, Claudia Díaz Olavarrieta, and Dolores Acevedo-García
Workers
in Mexico’s maquiladoras (assembly plants) are mainly young,
single women, many of whom could benefit from emergency contraceptive
pills (ECPs). Because ECPs are readily available in Mexico, women who
know about the therapy can obtain it easily. Do maquiladora workers know
about the method? Could worksite programs help increase awareness? To
investigate these questions, we conducted a five-month intervention
during which workers in three maquiladoras along the Mexico–United
States border could attend educational talks on ECPs, receive pamphlets,
and obtain kits containing EC supplies. Among the workers exposed to our
intervention, knowledge of ECPs increased. Reported ECP use also
increased. Although our intervention apparently increased workers’
knowledge and use, the factory proved to be a difficult intervention
setting. Problems we experienced included a factory closure and
management/staff opposition to certain project elements. Future studies
should continue to investigate worksite interventions and other
strategies to reach workers. (Studies in Family Planning 2008; 39[3]:
199–210) (offsite
link*)
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The
Effects of a Communication Program on Contraceptive Ideation and Use
Among Young Women in Northern Nigeria
/ Stella Babalola, Lisa Folda,
and Hadiza Babayaro
This
study assesses the effects of a communication campaign designed to
encourage young people in northern Nigeria to use modern family planning
methods to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The analyses are based on a
sample of 819 sexually experienced women. Using multivariate probit
regression, we attempt to correct for possible endogeneity among
campaign exposure, contraceptive ideation, and contraceptive use. Our
analysis reveals that the direct effect of campaign exposure on the
probability of contraceptive use is only marginally significant, but the
effect of exposure on contraceptive ideation is robust, as is the effect
of contraceptive ideation on contraceptive use. The findings demonstrate
not only the success of the program but also the relevance of
incorporating ideation into analytic models assessing the effects of
communication campaigns. (Studies in Family Planning 2008; 39[3]:
211–220) (offsite
link*)
Data
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Armenia 2005: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey (offsite
link*)
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Zimbabwe 2005–06: Results from the Demographic and Health Survey (offsite
link*)
Book Reviews (offsite
link*)
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Bonnie Shepard
Running the Obstacle Course to Sexual and Reproductive Health:
Lessons from Latin America
Ana Langer
- Ylva Hernlund and Bettina Shell-Duncan, editors
Transcultural Bodies: Female Genital Cutting in Global Context
Marianne Sarkis
- M. Catherine Maternowska
Reproducing Inequities: Poverty and the Politics of Population in
Haiti
Gisele Maynard-Tucker
* Journal subscribers will be able to access a PDF
of the article online; nonsubscribers will be given access after paying
a fee.
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