The sociodemographic, behavioral, reproductive, and health factors associated with fertility in Brazil

Abstract

High fertility rates among disadvantaged subgroups are a public health problem because fertility levels significantly affect socioeconomic conditions and a population’s welfare. This paper aims to analyze the sociodemographic, behavioral, and reproductive factors associated with fertility rates among Brazilian women aged between 15–49 years. A Poisson regression was used to analyze data from the 2006 PNDS (Pesquisa Nacional de Demografia e Saúde da Criança e da Mulher), which evaluates socioeconomic, demographic, geographic, reproductive, behavioral, and chronic disease variables. The results show that the following characteristics are positively associated with an increase in the number of children born: being aged 20–24, residing in the North, being nonwhite, not being in paid employment, having lower education levels, having lower socioeconomic status, being in a stable union, having the first sexual intercourse before the age of 16 and having the first child before the age of 20. Thus, it is important to implement efficient family planning policies targeting these subgroups in order to improve life conditions, reduce inequalities and avoid the adverse outcomes of high fertility.

Female autonomy and fertility pattern among women working in formal sector in Kathmandu valley

“…The result is similar to other studies which states that there has been a downward trend regarding the number of children of women with higher education. 8,9 Women with 12 or more years of schooling have a 21% lower incidence rate ratio compared to those who have less than one year of schooling. 9 Number of children per woman declines with increasing education.…”

“…8,9 Women with 12 or more years of schooling have a 21% lower incidence rate ratio compared to those who have less than one year of schooling. 9 Number of children per woman declines with increasing education. According to household bargaining model, more educated women are better able to support themselves and have more bargaining power, including on family size.…”

Twin Peaks: A spatial and temporal study of twinning rates in Brazil

“…While the indices rose more in some parts of the country than in others, they increased in all states of the country [ 18 , 29 , 30 ]. These and other changes have affected the health and health behavior of Brazilians, in addition to causing positive educational changes [ 39 , 41 , 42 ]. Taken together, such changes can result in delayed childbearing, even though some parts of the country may be affected more than others [ 30 , 42 ].…”

“…We thus believe that the increasing TRs across Brazil, seen mainly in women over 30, as well the particularly sharp rise of twinning in women aged 45 and over, are due to a combination of five major factors: first, delayed childbearing, particularly among higher-income women [ 28 , 41 , 43 ]. Second, infertility increases with maternal age [ 44 ] and can reach high rates in developing countries [ 43 , 45 ].…”

“…For example, parity has been related to twinning, and greater parity has been associated with a higher risk of twin pregnancies [ 5 , 35 ]. However, Brazil has achieved an intermediary stage of the demographic transition with decreasing fertility levels, making this explanation less likely [ 41 , 42 ]. Another factor that has been related to twin births is maternal diet, but the reports on this are conflicting [ 5 , 23 , 36 ].…”