Regional Variations of Fertility Control Behavior among Rural Reproductive Women in Bangladesh: A Hierarchical Analysis

Abstract

Women’s fertility decision is quite difficult in male-dominant rural culture due to their poor reproductive autonomy. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in rural community of Bangladesh between November 2017 and February 2018 among 1285 respondents selected by multi-stage stratified sampling to explore regional variations of rural women’s fertility control behavior and its determinants using hierarchical and other inferential statistics. Data collection was done by face-to-face interview using questionnaire. Average parity was 2.5 per woman and 41% respondents had three or more children. About 60% of them used modern contraceptives (MCs) and oral contraceptive pill (OCP) was their first choice. Male participation in contraceptive use was less than 5%. Regional variation, women’s empowerment, fertility control knowledge, family planning (FP) attitude, social influence, perceived behavioral control (PBC) and fertility intention were significant predictors of fertility control behavior (p < 0.05). Significant regional variations were determined in fertility control behavior of rural women (p < 0.05). Almost all of its predictors explained by Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) also showed significant regional variations (p < 0.05). Current fertility control policy should be strengthened more not only to improve fertility behavior of rural women but also to establish regional equity in fertility control by improving their reproductive decision-making in a rational way.

Influence of the preference for sons on contraceptive use in Bangladesh: A multivariate analysis

“…The low CPR of Muslim women confirms the presence of the preference for sons. These findings are similar to the findings of other studies that took place in Bangladesh (Hoq, 2019;Visaria, 2015;Alam et al, 2018).…”

Impact of Proximate Determinants on Fertility Transition Behind the Socio-demographic Factors in Bangladesh: A Hierarchical Approach from the National Survey

“…This is analogous to the studied cases in Bangladesh. 25 The magnitude of women's empowerment in regulating fruitfulness was also alluded to in a prior study conducted in Bangladesh. 26 The current research hints that access to media has an important and positive influence on reducing fertility rates among women.…”

Spatial variation in the non-use of modern contraception and its predictors in Bangladesh

“…We also found the divisional variations of modern contraception use, with modern contraception was found to be lower in the Sylhet, Chattogram and Barishal divisions and higher in the Rangpur, Mymensingh and part of the Rajshahi division. Previous studies in Bangladesh also reported a higher odd of modern contraception non-use in the Sylhet, Barishal and Chattogram divisions and lower odds of non-modern contraception in the Rangpur, Mymensingh and Rajshahi divisions [18, 27]. However, our findings were based on cluster level (smallest area under division) estimates which enable us to identify specific areas of contraception unmet need.…”

“…Chattogram divisions and lower odds of non-modern contraception in the Rangpur, Mymensingh and Rajshahi divisions [18,27]. However, our findings were based on cluster level (smallest area under division) estimates which enable us to identify specific areas of contraception unmet need.…”

“…Of the 20,127 women interviewed, 16,135 met the inclusion criteria, and were included in the analysis (80% of the main survey participants). The median (IQR) age of the women was 25 (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) years with almost half having three or more children (Table 1). About one-fifth of the participants (19.2%) had received no formal education and half were currently employed.…”