Factors Influencing Couples’ Fertility Preferences in Kenya

Abstract

Fertility preference is an issue of great significance in the developing nations particularly Kenya where to date, fertility rates remain considerably high despite the recently reported declines. Studies reveal that the preferences of fertility are actually significant in determining the society’s fertility levels because the fertility behavior of the future has a high likelihood of falling under the effect of currently observed fertility inclinations. The measurements of fertility preference are often defined as desired family size, ideal number of children, desire for additional children and fertility intentions. Measuring fertility intentions, and determining the extent to which they predict fertility behavior, is important for population policy and the implementation of family planning programs. The objective of this study was to establish the factors associated with fertility preference amongst couples in Kenya. The study utilized secondary data from the Kenya demographic health survey 2014 with a study population of 5,265 couples. Fertility preference, the dependent variable for the study was desire for additional children. The selected independent variables for the study were classified into three categories, that is, economic, cultural, and demographic factors. The economic factors included education, type of residence, work status and region of residence. The cultural factor considered was religion. The demographic factors included age, spousal age gap, sex composition of living children and infant mortality. The Multinomial logistic regression model was the main method of analysis. Descriptive statistics reveal that majority of the couples had the same fertility preference, resided in the rural areas and were from the Rift valley region of Kenya. In addition, majority of the couples belonged to the protestant/other Christian religion and both the husband and wife were working. Majority of the couples also reported education attainment for both the husband and the wife as primary education and below, had a spousal age gap of zero to five years and had not experienced infant/child mortality. Cross tabulation analysis found that an association existed between couple fertility preference and the selected variables apart from the work status of the husband and infant/child mortality. From the results of the full model for the likelihood ratio tests, it was observed that the type of place of residence, the region of residence, age of a man and woman as well as the spousal gap were statistically significant and thus influence the desire for additional children among couples in Kenya. On the other hand, religion, education, working status, infant or child mortality experience and the gender composition of existing children among a couple are not statistically significant determinants of desire for additional children among couples in Kenya. The results from the multinomial analysis revealed that it was more likely for couples from the rural settlements to have the same fertility preference compared to those from urban settlements. Region of residence was also observed to be key in desire for additional children, where it was observed that couples from the North Eastern region of Kenya were more likely to desire additional children compared to couples from other regions of Kenya. In addition, same fertility preference was observed among couples where the wife was aged 35 years and above. In regard to spousal age it was observed that with increased age gap, desire for additional children for both the husband and the wife decreased. The study has identified Region of residence as a key factor that is associated with a couple’s fertility preference. Desire for additional children is very high among couples from the North Eastern region of Kenya. This region happens to be the region with the highest total fertility rate (6.4) in the country. The region has also been experiencing a slow decline in fertility levels. As such, it will be beneficial for policy maker and duty bearers to pay close attention in promoting couple-focused interventions such as inclusion of men in the promotion of adoption of family planning, as it was evident from the study that there is a high desire for additional children among husbands from this region, and generally, majority of the couple had same fertility preference. The data used in this study was more quantitative than qualitative. Future researchers can adopt a mixed method approach where the qualitative aspect is incorporated in order to provide additional and detailed information on attitude, cultural and social beliefs as well as behavior in regard to fertility preference amongst couples.