Fertility change and its proximate determinants in Bangladesh

Abu Hasanat Mohammad kishowar Hossain, University of Dhaka

In 1989, women in Bangladesh were having on average 5.1 children and it came down to 4.3 in 1991. Recent survey indicates that the Bangladesh fertility rate has declined to 3.0 children per woman. Four major proximate determinants such as marriage, contraception, postpartum infecundability and induced abortion affect fertility. This study will critically examine the fertility change in Bangladesh through a systematic analysis of its proximate determinants. It will also explore the relative importance of the effect of different proximate determinants on fertility in Bangladesh . The data used in this study will come from the 2004 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). The possible outcomes of the study are, contraceptive use does not reach at satisfactory level; a large proportion of marriages still take place before the legal age of 18; median durations of postpartum amenorrhea, abstinence and insusceptibility depend on socio-economic back-ground of the respondents.