Fertility dynamics and its relationship to child survival in Siaya District

Abstract

Qualitative and quantitative data gathered in a survey of 340 women from Siaya in Kenya demonstrate that high fertility in the district is a rational response to the prevalent traditional socio-cultural system which puts a premium on having many children as essential to family survival. Other factors contributing to persisting high fertility includes widespread poverty, uncertainty about child survival, limited use of modern contraceptive technology and an early start to reproduction. The study found that age at first pregnancy was falling, although age at first marriage was rising. This increase in pre-marital childbearing has extended the potential reproductive span and contributed to rising fertility level. Fertility estimates also revealed significant differentials, with fertility highest in southern areas, in the least educated and among the traditional believers. This pattern of fertility has not helped the economic development potential in the district; rather it has led to over utilization of agricultural resources, low development potential opportunities and now a threat to the ecosystem and social life. High fertility - in excess of family size preferences revealed in the survey - overstretches limited household finances, reduces both individual's and area's economic growth as a consequence of capital dilution and adversely affects women's health and work potential. The thesis concludes that there is an urgent need for effective population policies and determined efforts to improve the socioeconomic status of women in the district, if the adverse consequences of unwanted births and premature childbearing are to be countered.