Motivation and fertility control behaviour in Pakistan

Abstract

Using data from the Population, Labour Force and Migration (PLM) Survey of 1979-80, this paper examines the component of potential motivation for fertility limitation among Pakistani married women and then determines what factors are important in explaining the contraceptive use differentials among the potentially motivated subgroup of women. The analysis is conducted using logit regression models. The findings show that, among women wanting no additional children, a substantial proportion is reluctant to adopt fertility control behaviour, confirming the existence of latent demand for contraception in all strata. A majority of these women report no exposure to the programme or no contact with a family planning worker, and a large majority of those who have had exposure or have been contacted do not report contraceptive use, indicating a considerable shortfall of the programme. Among the urban women wanting no more children, the important factors affecting contraceptive use positively are education, household income, living in nuclear family, exposure to the programme, and contact with a family planning worker. For rural women, only nuclear family living and the programme factors are significant in promoting contraceptive use. The suggestions likely to increase contraceptive prevalence are to reach those women who have the potential motivation for contraception, and to increase the quality and sources of the motivation efforts of the programme to crystallize the latent demand among those who need it. -Author