Degree of preference implementation and fertility changes in developing countries

Latifat Ibisomi, University of the Witwatersrand

The ICPD in 1994 emphasized the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to effective, affordable methods of fertility regulation. These rights rest on the recognition that couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of children. Thus national governments demonstrated their support for the resolutions by promoting contraceptive use in many ways. However have couples been able to implement their reproductive desires/intentions? The need arises to examine how observed fertility changes in developing countries can be explained by the ability of individuals or couples to implement their fertility intentions through informed choice. Using DHS for sixty countries, results show variations in the degree of preference implementation as a factor in fertility decline. Reduction in wanted fertility is also noted to be responsible for fertility decline. Development has an increasing effect on the degree of preference implementation.