Sisoulath Vilaysook. Relationship between child mortality and fertility among ever married women in LAO PDR. Master's Degree(Population and Reproductive Health Research ). Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center. : Mahidol University, 2009.
Relationship between child mortality and fertility among ever married women in LAO PDR
Abstract:
Lowering the high fertility rate is a priority of the Lao PDR, especially in
rural and remote areas. High rate of child mortality is a contributing factor to a
couples decision to have more children. This study attempts to examine the
relationship between child mortality and fertility of married women aged 15-49 in Lao
PDR. Data analyzed for this study are from 10,288 married women surveyed in the
Lao Reproductive Health Survey conducted in 2005.
It is found that almost one-fourth of the samples had experience of child
mortality. On average, the number of children born to a mother who has no experience
of child death is 2.9, while it is 5.3 for those who have had such an experience. The
results from multiple regression analysis demonstrated that after controlling for socioeconomic
and demographic factors, namely, education, employment status, ethnicity,
place of residence, age, age at first marriage, contraceptive use, ideal number of
children, and abortion experience, number of children died was positively related to
the number of children born. An additional child dying increased the number of
children born by 0.94 (P<0.001).
The results suggest that to effectively reduce fertility level, the child
survival program should be strengthened. It can be done through improving the quality
of newborn and child survival programs. This program will not only reduce child
mortality but will also reduce fertility in the long term. The results of this study can
not clarify if the relationship of child mortality and fertility is due to replacement or
insurance effects, and this needs to be further explored.
Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center