Effect of infant and child mortality on fertility in Kenya
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Date
1992-11Author
Kimani, Murungaru
Type
ThesisLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The specific objective of this study was to assess whether behavioural effects
on fertility of replacement and insurance following an infant or child death exist
in Kenya independent of biological effects. A further general objective was to
find out whether the measured values of such effects depended on the
methods utilized for analysis. To achieve the above objectives, several
hypotheses to determine the magnitudes of these effects were tested by
applying the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and the Hazards models to data
drawn from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) which was
conducted in 1989.
The above hypotheses were tested within a conceptual framework developed
from the Bongaart and Mosley and Chen frameworks for the analysis of fertility
and infant and child mortality respectively. To operationalize this conceptual
framework the birth interval was taken as the dependent variable and also a
measure of fertility while seven variables were defined for the assessment of
the effects. Several socio-economic, cultural and demographic variables were
included in this framework as control variables.
Results of the analysis are presented and discussed in Chapters 6 (bivariate)
and 7 (multivariate) of the Thesis. The results in chapter 6 showed that infant
and child deaths were associated with shorter birth intervals in case of the analysis based on the OLS and higher risks of birth interval termination in the
case of the hazards models. For example, birth intervals were shorter on the
average by about 4 months for deaths of female births taking place in those
intervals where the birth opening the interval was alive at the time of the
survey. In terms of the risk, it was 1: 5 higher in case of such deaths compared
to when there were no such deaths.
The assessment of the replacement and insurance effects undertaken in
Chapter 7 showed that the shorter birth intervals associated with infant and
child deaths were in part explained by differences in coital frequency,
contraceptive use and breastfeeding among the two groups of mothers. These
results suggest the existence of replacement and insurance effects. Coital
frequency and contraceptive use were found to explain about 10 per cent of
the differences while breastfeeding explained about 34 per cent. The results
obtained from the two method were also found to be consistent.
The main conclusion which is drawn is that the findings of the study are
consistent with the existence of replacement and insurance effects. Further
research is, however needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. The main
policy implications of the findings of the study is that infant and child survival
programmes should be integrated as part of the overall strategy for the
increased acceptance and use of family planning in areas where infant and child mortality is high in Kenya. Emphasis of the role of breastfeeding may be an
additional strategy for increasing infant and child survival and lowering fertility.
Sponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
Department of Population Studies & Research Institute, University of Nairobi
Subject
Child mortalityFertility
Infant mortality
Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS)
Contraceptive
Coital frequency
Ordinary Least Square (OLS)