Insights into spousal differences in reproductive dis / agreement

Data from the 1988 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey were used to analyze the relationship between relative power of spouses and agreement or disagreement on future fertility desires. The data do not allow a comprehensive assessment of actual sources of power. Three types of status differentials that might influence fertility decisions were studied: age, occupation, and education. 864 husband-wife pairs, in which both stated their preference to have or not have another child, were studied. Most men were considerably older and better educated than their wives, and 8% of men vs. 2% of women had jobs in the highest status category. 69.2% of couples agreed they wanted another child and 13.5% agreed they did not. In 5.8% of couples disagreeing, the wife, but not the husband, wanted another child; in 11.5%, the husband, but not the wife, wanted another. The relative status variables were incorporated as regressors in a multinomial logistic regression to test the influence of status differences on agreement or disagreement. Limited evidence was found to back any hypothesis of a relationship between relative status of spouses and agreement or disagreement. Evidence was found, however, to support the claim that women having a higher occupational status than their husbands inclines couples toward agreeing not to have more children and away from agreement to have more. Further research is needed to clarify the meaning of disagreement and the dynamics of resolution of differences.     

Gender,Power, and Reproduction: Rural‐Urban Differences in the Relationship Between Fertility Goals and Contraceptive Use in Kenya*

Abstract Rural‐urban variances in fertility‐related phenomena traditionally are explained by differences in access to contraception and by spatial variations in reproductive goals. As a corollary, changes in existing supply‐ and demand‐side inequities should enable rural women to attain their reproductive goals to the same extent as their urban counterparts. We find, however, that reproductive decisions in rural areas reflect entrenched male dominance, such that the gender inequality in decision making must be redressed if rural women are to realize their fertility goals as fully as urban women.     

Education and changing reproductive behavior in Ghana

It has recently been posited by several researchers that a fertility transition is under way in Ghana. Such fertility decline would be the first instance on the west coast of Africa. Data from the 1988 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey allows closer assessment of this earlier speculation. Review of the data suggests that earlier assertions of the existence of fertility transition were premature and hastily drawn from fragmented evidence. Little evidence exists to support any hypothesis of a fertility turnaround in ghana. The findings are, however, cautiously optimistic with some indication that continued increases in the proportion of women with some secondary education may yet induce a fertility transition in the country. The author notes the lack of individual motivation to reduce fertility in Ghana and questions the merit of continuing family planning programs in such an atmosphere. Measures to reach men in family planning messages and to expand the level of women's education are recommended. Success in reducing fertility in Kenya as a result of increasing women's education is noted.     

Do male reproductive preferences really point to a need to refocus fertility policy?

Independently collected data from a 1994 survey in Accra, Ghana, are used here to verify earlier findings from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data which indicate the existence of a closer tie between men's reproductive preferences and contraceptive use, than between the latter and women's preferences. Indeed, the findings corroborate the earlier studies and suggest that fertility transition in Africa may be accelerated if the family planning establishment would recognize the contribution of the male role, and bring men into the mainstream of their agenda.     

Sexual risk-taking in the slums of Nairobi,Kenya, 1993-8

Relatively less attention has been paid to reproductive health problems facing deprived urban residents than to those facing rural residents in the sub-Saharan Africa. This is probably because the majority of Africans live in rural areas, where they are presumed to have poorer medical, educational, and other social services. Yet, the unprecedented rate of urbanization and the accompanying disproportionate growth in the proportion of poor city residents pose new challenges for health care in the region. This study examines differences in sexual behaviour between slum residents and non-slum residents in Nairobi city. The results show that slum residents start sexual intercourse at earlier ages, have more sexual partners, and are less likely than other city residents to know of or adopt preventive measures against contracting HIV/AIDS. The findings highlight the need to treat slum residents as a sub-population uniquely vulnerable to reproductive health problems and to expend more resources in slum settings.