Francine Van de Walle

Migration and fertility in Ticino.

Summary Migration in the Swiss canton of Ticino is one example of the wide variety of demographic systems that existed in pre-industrial Europe. The continuous movement of men was a consequence of economic, social and geographic conditions which restricted the demand for labour. Seasonal migration and overseas migration were both sex and age selective. They resulted in an imbalance of the sex ratio and a remarkably low female nuptiality. They also reduced fertility within marriage by separating husbands and wives during their childbearing years. The effect of long, medium and short-term migration on fertility can be isolated from census and vital registration sources.Summary Migration in the Swiss canton of Ticino is one example of the wide variety of demographic systems that existed in pre-industrial Europe. The continuous movement of men was a consequence of economic, social and geographic conditions which restricted the demand for labour. Seasonal migration and overseas migration were both sex and age selective. They resulted in an imbalance of the sex ratio and a remarkably low female nuptiality. They also reduced fertility within marriage by separating husbands and wives during their childbearing years. The effect of long, medium and short-term migration on fertility can be isolated from census and vital registration sources.

Norms and Behaviour in Burkinabe Fertility

In this paper a combination of methods is used to investigate the determinations of birth-interval length in a single city in Burkina Faso. 1st a multi-round survey provided accurate measurement of dates of reproductive events. Secondly open-ended interviews with a sub- sample of women from the survey were tape-recorded and transcribed. In order to disentangle the direct and indirect biological and behavioral determinants of birth-interval length 7 series of hazards models were estimated. These results were compared with womens perceptions of the same relationships revealed in the in-depth interviews. The lesson the authors draw is that no single data-collection strategy can provide answers to all questions of interest. The multi-round survey provides accurate information on actual behavior but at great cost. The in- depth interviews enable the investigator to study norms and motivations but this method is impractical for data collection for a large representative sample. Combining the 2 strategies can yield insights that may enhance the effectiveness of program interventions. (authors)

Birthspacing and Abstinence in Sub-Saharan Africa

Long intervals between births are the norm throughout Sub-Saharan Africa; they are considered necessary to ensure the health of the mother and her child. Women who do not bear their children far enough apart are viewed negatively by the community, as experience has shown that a new pregnancy can compromise the health of the suckling child. The underlying rationale for spacing births is to keep as many children alive as possible in order to achieve a large family. In this sense, the impetus for birthspacing in most of Africa is pronatalist in nature, the very opposite of practicing contraception to limit family size. Among the populations of the region, there is a widespread belief that traditional practices-in particular, more or less prolonged postpartum abstinence-adequately meet the spacing needs of couples. As a result, attempts to introduce family planning programs by stressing the need for contraception to promote birthspacing have not met with great success as a rule. Until recently, findings from fertility surveys carried out in developed countries had led demographers to believe that most couples were not efficient at spacing births. However, the fact that many African cultures observed taboos on intercourse during the postpartum period was well documented in the anthropological literature. After the publication of Culture and Human Fertility in 1954,1 demographers began to speculate that there might be populations in Africa that were spacing their births, if not consciously, then at least in conformity with an implicit rationality reinforced by the social system. In 1977, John and Pat Caldwell published a seminal study of the Yoruba of Nigeria that contributed greatly to an understanding of the role of sexual abstinence as a fertility determinant in Africa.2 They reported that the Yoruba almost universally observe taboos on postpartum intercourse, which often last up to three years after a birth; typically, the taboo is maintained for six months after the end of breastfeeding. According to Yoruba informants, postpartum abstinence enhances the health of the suckling child by ensuring that a new pregnancy will not force the mother to wean the child too soon, and also preserves the mothers health by allowing her time to rest after a birth. The Yoruba also believe that coitus during breastfeeding is harmful because it allows sperm to enter the blood of the nursing mother, thereby poisoning her milk. (Interestingly, the celebrated Greek physician Galen, among others, held the same belief.3) In many other African societies, traditional lore has directly associated the early resumption of intercourse after a birth with various childhood diseases. Kwashiorkor and marasmus, diseases that are caused by protein or calorie deficiency, are often attributed to the quality of the mothers milk, which is considered to be compromised by intercourse. Similarly, episodes of diarrhea among children, which occur frequently during weaning or when women start giving supplementary foods, are often believed to result from the premature resumption of intercourse. These widely held beliefs have contributed to the survival of the practice of postpartum abstinence, and indeed data from the World Fertility Surveys (WFS) confirm that the taboo against intercourse is still widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the duration of abstinence varies across the region. Evidence from anthropological writings suggests that the Yoruba observe a particularly prolonged period of abstinence compared with other Sub-Saharan populations.4 Cultures that observe the taboo can be divided into three major groups according to the duration of the abstinence period.5 The first group includes those populations that resume intercourse soon after a birth; among these are the many Muslims who interpret Koranic tradition as imposing abstinence for 40 days. (It is particularly difficult to interpret the Muslim prohibition against intercourse as being a means of delaying the arrival of the next child; rather, the taboo is observed because women are considered to be unclean during the postpartum period, just as they are thought to be unclean during menstruation.) The second group consists mainly of societies in East Africa, where abstinence lasts for between 40 days and one year. And the third group, which includes the non-Muslim populations of western and central Africa, practices abstinence for more than one year. WFS data also indicate that there is considerable variation within countries in the duration of the abstinence period. For example, postpartum abstinence lasts from seven to 31 months in Ghana and from 11 to 22 months in Cameroon. If one trusts the earlier reports of anthropologists, the taboos on sex following a birth are probably shorter now than they were in the past, suggesting that the tradition is eroding. The spread of Islam in Africa, modernization, urbanization and more widespread education are factors contributing to the erosion of the custom. It is certain that the practice of postpartum abstinence is more likely to be encountered in cultures where the conjugal link is traditionally weak, where polygyny exists and where the extended family prevails. In any event, the responsibility for observing sexual taboos falls to the women. Male sexual behavior is not strongly conditioned either by a concern for proper birthspacing or by a regard for the quality of the mothers milk; consequently, men do not abstain from sexual relations to the same extent as do their wives. Among Yoruba couples who practice monogamy but observe abstinence, husbands tend to look outside of their marriage for partners Etienne van de Walle is professor of sociology and chairman of the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Francine van de Walle is a research associate at the Center.

Family Planning in Bamako, Mali

Researchers conducted a infant and child mortality survey which followed 6902 mothers who gave birth in Bamako Mali in 1982 and 1983 for 2 years. They also spoke in-depth with 78 women who lived near the city center or in an outlying squatter area of Bamako. They did this study to discern why contraceptive prevalence remained low despite the presence of quality and accessible family planning services. 31 women had used a traditional family planning method in the past and 8 currently did. The researchers interpreted this high use as a demand for natural methods rather than modern methods to space births. A cotton belt with knots tied around the waist and a combination of certain amulets and charms were some of the most common traditional methods used. 11 women knew the rhythm method and 5 actually used it but they tended to not accurately understand the menstrual cycle. Sexual abstinence was allowed for 2-3 months postpartum. Some women even tended to refuse sex on demand after the postpartum period. After delivery 10% of the women in the large survey knew a modern contraceptive and 3% knew at least 1 traditional method. Further only 3.4% ever used a modern method. Yet in the small sample 90% knew at least 1 method after prompting. In fact they tended to name all the methods available (oral contraceptives injectables and IUDs). But only 6 women currently used a modern method and 9 had used such a method in the past. Husbands and wives did not communicate well about family planning. Moreover many women held fatalistic beliefs and did not take charge in making childbearing decisions. Yet they did realize the importance of birth spacing. But they tended to consider contraceptives to be an unacceptable means to space births. Nevertheless some women questioned mens motives and considered a large family as a burden.

Allaitement, stérilité et contraception : les opinions jusqu'au XIXe siècle

SUMARIO Se trata aqui de saber si las poblaciones del posado conocian la influencia del amamantamiento sobre la fecundabilidad y cuales fueron las consecuencias de las ideas tocante a este asunto sobre el empleo de nodrizas. Se presentan las opiniones sobre el amamantamiento de los medicos del pasado tales como Galeno, Hipocrates, Soranos de Efeso y luego las de los medicos modernos. Otros autores han dado tamblen su opinion sobre el interdicto sexual para las nodrizas durante el periodo del amamantamiento. Las relaciones entre el amamantamiento y la esterilidad temporaria estan estudiadas desde los puntos de vista fisiologico, moral y demografico. Рог fin se examina la relacion entre el rehuso de amamantar y la contracepcion.