Childbearing intention transforming into fertility behaviors: a panel study in rural North India

Preeti Dhillon, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

The major objective of the reproductive and child health programme is to assist couples to avoid unwanted pregnancies and to have the number of children they want, when they want them. By linking the data from NFHS-2 (1998-1999) with responses from the follow-up survey (2002-2003), it would be possible to investigate the dynamics of childbearing intention and fertility behavior and to explore the factors affecting childbearing intention. Findings suggest that 44.3 percent pregnancies (32.2 percent unwanted and 12.1 percent mistimed) were unintended measured by prospective assessment during the inter-survey period. Life course experienced, such as, educational-level, exposure to mass media, working-status RCH service Utilization are found to act negatively toward the desired to have additional child, while examining the fertility desire into pregnancy outcome it is observed that son-preference, child-lost, having more number of children influencing positively unwanted pregnancy. Though, younger women are at higher risk of having mistimed pregnancy.