Fertility Patterns (fertility + pattern)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Childbearing after Migration: Fertility Patterns of Foreign-born Women in Sweden,

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2004
Gunnar Andersson
The present study provides an investigation of patterns in childbearing among foreign-born women in Sweden from the 1960s to the 1990s. Event-history techniques are applied to longitudinal population register data on childbearing and migration of 446,000 foreign-born women who had ever lived in Sweden before the end of 1999. Period trends in parity-specific fertility appear to be quite similar for Swedish- and foreignborn women, but important differences exist in levels of childbearing propensities between women from different countries of origin. Most immigrant groups tend to display higher levels of childbearing shortly after immigration. We conclude that migration and family building in many cases are interrelated processes and that it is always important to account for time since migration when fertility of immigrants is studied. [source]


Intergenerational Transmission of Fertility Patterns,

OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS & STATISTICS, Issue 2 2009
Alison L. Booth
Abstract Recent studies by economists have focused on cultural transmission from the origin country rather than the origin family. Our paper extends this research by investigating how family-specific,cultural transmission' can affect fertility rates. Following Machado and Santos Silva [Journal of the American Statistical Association (2005) Vol. 100, p. 1226] and Miranda [Journal of Population Economics (2008) Vol. 21, p. 67], we estimate count data quantile regression models using the British Household Panel Survey. We find that a woman's origin-family size is positively associated with completed fertility in her destination family. A woman's country of birth also matters for her fertility. For a sub-sample of continuously partnered men and women, both partners' origin-family sizes significantly affect destination-family fertility. [source]


A systematic review of trend studies of women seeking termination of pregnancy

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 22 2008
Wendy Abigail
Aims and objectives., This article reports a systematic review of trend studies (1995,2006) which answers five questions: What are the patterns of: 1,Age of women seeking termination of pregnancy; 2,First ever pregnancy ending in a termination; 3,Contraception usage at the time of conception; 4,Contraception chosen immediately postoperatively; and 5,Referral sources to termination of pregnancy services. Background., Fertility patterns are changing and there is evidence to indicate that the numbers of older women conceiving for the first time are increasing. At the same time, there are new methods of contraception widely available. Little is known about the implications of these changes on termination patterns. Design., An extensive electronic search of databases such as CINAHL, MEDLINE® In-Process (OVID) and was conducted from January 1995,June 2006 for trend studies in pregnancy terminations. Methods., Articles chosen were based on trend studies greater than five years, contained primary quantitative research and official government statistical reports. Results., Results of the search showed age that was unable to be compared because of the many variations in measurements and time periods, and there was only limited research worldwide of trends in contraception at the time of conception in relation to a termination of pregnancy. Additionally, there were no studies worldwide in the past 11 years, which specifically examined trends in the characteristics of the number of first-ever pregnancies which ended in a termination, contraception choices postoperative to a termination of pregnancy, or referral source to a termination of pregnancy provider. Conclusion., Little is reported in the literature on trends in the five characteristics related to pregnancy termination. Relevance to clinical practice., Evidence about the changing patterns of women seeking pregnancy termination is needed to inform policy and practice, and to ensure that health promotion strategies are underpinned by accurate information that reflects the needs of the populations of women in relation to their reproductive health. [source]


HIV epidemic in central african republic: High prevalence rates in both rural and urban areas

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 3 2004
Marcelle Diane Matsika-Claquin
Abstract A sentinel serosurveillance study was conducted in Central African Republic to estimate the prevalence of HIV seropositivity in the general adult population in each province so that the public health authorities can target HIV prevention programmes to the priority areas. Blood samples were collected from women attending 48 antenatal clinics in urban and rural areas of the Central African Republic. These samples were tested for HIV antibodies in an anonymous and unlinked manner using strategy II recommended by WHO. The data were extrapolated to all women of reproductive age in Central African Republic by use of a parity-based adjustment involving the application of correction factors to the observed prevalence rates. A total of 9,305 pregnant women were recruited from November 2001 to October 2002. HIV seroprevalence was high in all age groups (12% in the less than 20 year age group to 17% in the 25,29 year age group). The median prevalence of HIV in antenatal clinics was similar for rural areas, for Bangui and for other urban areas (16.5, 15.0, and 12.5% respectively). Adjustment for parity and fertility pattern increased the prevalence of HIV in all antenatal clinics except in Bangui. This first national study of HIV prevalence in Central African Republic revealed that the HIV epidemic is continuing to spread in both urban and rural areas. Thus, efforts to reduce transmission should be made in every part of the country. J. Med. Virol. 72:358,362, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Partnership and Parenthood in Post-transitional Societies: Will Specters Be Exorcised?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF JAPANESE SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008
Nobutaka Fukuda
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to reconsider partnership and parenthood in post-transitional societies from the viewpoint of sociology. As is well known, after the end of the Baby Boom, albeit with variations in the tempo and the level, a considerable decline in fertility has occurred in industrialized countries. Furthermore, this decline has occurred in tandem with the transformation of partnership such as an increase in the number of cohabited couples. The causes and effects of this decline in fertility have hitherto been studied by social scientists such as economists and demographers. Although the family has been one of the main research interests for sociologists for a long while, the changes in partnership and fertility behavior in developed countries have not been sufficiently argued from the perspective of sociological theory on family. In this article, we will initially compare and contrast two changes in fertility patterns: the first of these is the fertility decline that occurred around the latter half of the nineteenth century; the second is the change that has been observed in industrialized countries since the second half of the 1960s. We will then discuss the difference between economic and ideational approaches in the explanation of partnership and fertility changes. Finally, we will examine the convergence and the divergence theories on family change. This article will conclude with an emphasis on the importance of the middle-range theories. [source]


Women's fertility and mortality in late mid life: A comparison of three contemporary populations

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Emily Grundy
Evolutionary theory suggests a trade-off between reproduction and somatic maintenance implying a negative relationship between parity and longevity, at least in natural fertility populations. In populations in which fertility control is usual, there are also a number of mechanisms that may link reproductive careers and later mortality, but evidence of associations between women's fertility patterns and their later life health has been judged inconclusive due to varying controls for socio-economic characteristics and marital status. Here, we build on three recent studies that followed a common framework to investigate associations between women's parity and timing of first and last birth with mortality in late middle age in three contemporary developed counties, Norway, England and Wales, and the USA. Data were drawn from whole population registers (Norway); a large census-based record linkage study (England and Wales), and a nationally representative survey linked to death records (USA). Results show that teenage childbirth was associated with higher mortality risks in late middle age in all three countries. Risks of death were significantly raised among nulliparous women in Norway and England and Wales, and also raised (although not significantly so) for childless US women. However, although higher parity was associated with a slight mortality disadvantage in England and Wales and the USA, the reverse seemed the case in Norway. These finding suggest that in populations in which fertility control is usual, contextual factors influencing the relative costs and benefits of childbearing may influence associations between fertility histories and later mortality. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


When Does Religion Influence Fertility?

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 1 2004
Kevin McQuillan
Religious affiliation as a determinant of demographic behavior is receiving renewed attention in demography. Interest in the role of cultural factors in affecting fertility and a specific concern with the role of Islam in many developing countries have helped re-invigorate research on the role of religion. This article reviews theoretical and empirical work on that relationship, with special attention to a number of cases in which religion has been identified as an important determinant of fertility patterns. The article concludes that religion plays an influential role when three conditions are satisfied: first, the religion articulates behavioral norms with a bearing on fertility behavior; second, the religion holds the means to communicate these values and promote compliance; and, third, religion forms a central component of the social identity of its followers. [source]


Cohort Reproductive Patterns in Low-Fertility Countries

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 1 2001
Tomas Frejka
This account reports on a project in progress that aims to obtain a comprehensive picture of contemporary fertility levels and trends in 27 low-fertility countries. Cohort analysis is applied to review the fertility experience of women born from the 1930s through the 1970s. This choice of dates ensures that not only completed fertility but also the fertility patterns of women in the midst of or near the onset of their reproductive period are examined. In most of the 27 countries, completed fertility of successive cohorts has been declining. It appears plausible that the trends discerned in the analysis will continue in the foreseeable future. For these trends to be reversed, women who are about to enter or who are in the midst of their reproductive periods would have to adopt fertility patterns markedly different from those of women born in the 1960s and 1970s. [source]


The failure of pronatalism in developed states ,with cultural,ethnic hegemony': the Israeli lesson

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 2 2008
O. Winckler
Abstract During the past two decades, the ,hot' demographic issue in the developed states ,with cultural,ethnic hegemony' changed radically , from a focus on ,global demographic pressure', namely, the ,Malthusian syndrome' of rapid population growth in the developing countries, to the ethno-religious composition of their own populations. The solution adopted by many of these countries to tackle the twin demographic challenges of population ageing and the changing dependency ratio was the implementation of pronatalist policies which aimed at reducing their dependence upon labour immigration. This article examines the efficiency of these pronatalist policies through the Israeli case. The core questions of the article are: Has the Israeli pronatalist policy achieved its basic aims? What influence did the Israeli natalist policy and the child allowance structure have on the fertility patterns of the Israeli-Arabs? What can be learned from the Israeli experience regarding the efficiency of these pronatalist policies in developed states? The major lesson from the Israeli experience is that, to a large extent, these pronatalist polices failed. The fertility rate of the Jewish middle class, the Christian-Arabs and the Druze steadily declined, while that of the Israeli-Muslims, although lower since the 1960s, is still twice that of the Jewish middle class. One can find a similar situation in all of the developed states ,with cultural,ethnic hegemony.' Thus, the inescapable conclusion is that in democratic-developed societies, in which women enjoy equity in every respect, fertility rates will eventually decline to below replacement-level regardless of pronatalist financial benefits. Consequently, the process of the developed states ,with cultural,ethnic hegemony' becoming developed states ,without cultural,ethnic hegemony' is irreversible due to the constant need for massive labour immigration. In the case of Israel, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, there are high fertility rates in only two communities , the Ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Muslims , paradoxically the two ,non-Zionist' communities. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Diversity in fertility patterns in Guatemala

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 6 2006
Sofie De Broe
Abstract This study investigates urban and rural fertility trends in Guatemala up to 2002. It also aims to establish, using the theory of diffusion as its theoretical framework, the extent to which ethnicity and ethnic diversity are associated with geographical patterns in local-level fertility after controlling for socio-economic indicators. Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys of 1987, 1995,96 and 1998,99, the National Maternal and Child Health Survey of 2002 and the Census of 2002 were used. P/F ratios were calculated and used as an analytical tool and quality control measure of the data in order to establish the timing of changes in fertility patterns as measured by age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) based on exact exposure in four-year periods from 1972 to 2002. Finally, the 2002 census data were used to analyse and model fertility at the municipio- level using ordinary least squares regression. The results suggest a steady but very slow decline in fertility from 1972 until the mid-1990s. Both the P/F ratios and ASFRs calculated using the Maternal and Child Health Survey and Census of 2002 show a sharp decline in fertility since 1998. The regression results for the census data suggest an independent and significant effect of ,proportion of indigenous people' and an almost significant effect of ethnic diversity on fertility at the municipio -level. The very slow decline in fertility in Guatemala until fairly recently can be attributed to the fact that Guatemala has been lagging behind in terms of socio-economic development and the additional challenge of having a culturally very diverse and segregated population, preventing the spread of modern reproductive ideas and behaviour. The accelerated fertility decline since the end of the 1990s seems likely to be associated with the widespread availability and increased uptake of family planning following declining fertility desires among its indigenous population. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Nitrogen balance and ,15N: why you're not what you eat during pregnancy

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 23 2004
Benjamin T. Fuller
Carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) stable isotope ratios were longitudinally measured in human hair that reflected the period from pre-conception to delivery in 10 pregnant women. There was no significant change in the ,13C results, but all subjects showed a decrease in ,15N values (,0.3 to ,1.1,) during gestation. The mechanisms causing this decrease in hair ,15N have not been fully elucidated. However, since the ,15N values of dietary nitrogen and urea nitrogen are significantly lower compared to maternal tissues, it is hypothesized that the increased utilization of dietary and urea nitrogen for tissue synthesis during pregnancy resulted in a reduction of the steady state diet to a body trophic level effect by approximately 0.5,1,. An inverse correlation (R2,=,0.67) between hair ,15N and weight gain was also found, suggesting that positive nitrogen balance results in a reduction of ,15N values independent of diet. These results indicate that ,15N measurements have the ability to monitor not only dietary inputs, but also the nitrogen balance of an organism. A potential application of this technique is the detection of fertility patterns in modern and ancient species that have tissues that linearly record stable isotope ratios through time. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Reproductive aging in captive and wild common chimpanzees: factors influencing the rate of follicular depletion

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Sylvia Atsalis
Abstract We examine and discuss evidence of contrasting differences in fertility patterns between captive and wild female chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, as they age; in the wild females reproduce in their 40s, but captive studies suggest that menopause occurs around that time. Thus, despite the increased longevity generally observed in captive populations reproductive life span is shortened. We outline a hypothesis to explain the apparent differential pace of reproductive decline observed between wild and captive populations. The breeding schedules of captive primates may contribute to accelerated reproductive senescence because continuous cycling in captive animals results in early depletion of the ovarian stock and premature senescence. Available evidence supports the hypothesis that women with patterns of high oocyte loss experience earlier menopause. Chimpanzees in captivity live longer, and thus, similar to humans, they may experience follicular depletion that precedes death by many years. In captivity, chimpanzees typically have an early age at menarche and first birth, shorter interbirth intervals associated with short lactational periods as young mature faster, and nursery rearing, which allows mothers to begin cycling earlier. Variables typical of wild chimpanzee populations, including late age at menarche and first birth, long interbirth intervals associated with prolonged lactational periods, and a long period of female infertility after immigration, spare ovulations and may be responsible for the later age at reproductive termination. Finally, we describe and discuss the timing of specific reproductive landmarks that occur as female chimpanzees age, distinguishing between functional menopause (age at last birth) and operational menopause (end of cycling). Am. J. Primatol. 71:271,282, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]