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85 ASIA-PACIFIC POPULATION JOURNAL, December 1998, Vol. 13, N° 4
The contraceptive potential of lactation for Bangladeshi women.
Longitudinal data from two surveillance sites, one urban and one rural, are used to explore the contraceptive potential of lactational amenorrhoea in Bangladesh. Full breastfeeding is shown to afford significantly greater contraceptive protection than partial breastfeeding, though partial breastfeeders are also found to enjoy good protection against pregnancy while amenorrhoeic. The results also suggest that lactational amenorrhoea can afford good protection against pregnancy beyond six months postpartum. Also, older women seem to have significantly lower risks of conception during postpartum amenorrhoea than younger women. The article suggests that active steps should be taken to incorporate lactational amenorrhoea into postpartum family planning strategies in Bangladesh and identifies a number of barriers, both client and service-related, that currently inhibit this development.
English - pp. 3-32.
S. Salway, Centre for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, Londres, U.K.
S.Salway@lshtm.ac.uk.
(BANGLADESH, BREAST FEEDING, CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS, AMENORRHOEA.)
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00.85.2 - THANG, Nguyen Minh; JOHNSON, Brooke R.; LANDRY, Evelyn; COLUMBIA, Richard.
Client perspectives on quality of reproductive health services in Viet Nam.
This study finds that, although Viet Nam's family planning programme is increasingly successful, improvements are needed in the quality of reproductive health services if current progress is to continue. For example, service delivery outlets do not always provide a sufficiently wide choice of methods. Deficiencies exist regarding the distribution of methods and there is a lack of information on how to use particular methods effectively. Also counselling on contraceptive use for abortion clients is virtually absent. The article concludes with a set of in-depth recommendations for overcoming these shortcomings.
English - pp. 33-54.
N. M. Thang, Quality of Care Evaluation, National Committee for Population and Family Planning, Viet Nam.
(VIET NAM, FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMMES, PROGRAMME EVALUATION.)
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Suicide in countries and areas of the ESCAP region.
In the ESCAP region each year more than half a million people die by suicide and over 5 million attempt to kill themselves. This article collates available evidence about the incidence, age and sex patterns of suicide mortality in selected countries and areas of the region. It discusses cultural and legal attitudes towards suicide, as well as the social and health implications of the problem. It concludes by outlining some of the attempts that could be made at prevention both by governments and civil society.
English - pp. 55-74.
L. T. Ruzicka, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, Major's Creek, Braidwood, NSW 2622, Australia.
(ASIA, OCEANIA, SUICIDE, MORTALITY DETERMINANTS.)
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85 ASIA-PACIFIC POPULATION JOURNAL, March 1999, Vol. 14, N° 1
00.85.4 - CHEE, Stephen; HOUSE, William J.; LEWIS, Laurie.
Population policies and programmes in the post-ICPD era: Can the Pacific island countries meet the challenge?.
This article assesses the current population and development situation in the Pacific island countries, discusses the significance of population variables in the search for sustainable development, and highlights future key actions that need to be taken by governments and development partners to further implement the recommendations of the Programme of Action adopted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development so that there will be a major positive contribution to the quality of life of the people of these island countries and territories in the years to come.
English - pp. 3-20.
S. Chee, UNFPA Country Support Team, Suva, Fiji.
(OCEANIA, POPULATION POLICY, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, CONFERENCES.)
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00.85.5 - AGHAJANIAN, Akbar; MEHRYAR, Amir H.
Fertility transition in the Islamic Republic of Iran: 1976-1996.
This article analyses data related to the Iranian fertility transition that took place during the period 1976-1996. The study found that the demographic factors behind the decreasing crude birth rates are lower exposure to marriage through an unprecedented increase in the female age at marriage and decreases in marital fertility. The fertility decline is explained by demand and ideational factors including a broad reduction in infant mortality and persistent economic pressure. The increase in the educational level of women of reproductive age has also played a role. The most important ideational factor is the changing social atmosphere about having smaller families and using contraception. There is every indication that the declining fertility trend will continue; however, it is estimated that about 12 million women will be added to the age group 15-49 during the period 1996-2006, which could result in a "baby boom" in the next decade.
English - pp. 21-42.
A. Aghajanian, Department of Sociology, Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC 28301, U.S.A.
aghajani@chil.uncfsu.edu.
(IRAN, DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION, FERTILITY DECLINE, FERTILITY DETERMINANTS.)
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Overseas migration and the well-being of those left behind in rural communities of Bangladesh.
This article reveals that the flow of remittances, along with the diffusion of secular values, are the key processes through which various forms of migration operate to improve the socioeconomic well-being of the household members left behind. It argues not only that the flow of remittances contributes to raising economic well-being but also that the social and cultural aspects of overseas migration have the potential to modify the livelihood and behaviour of the sending communities through the interaction of secular ideas with traditional values.
English - pp. 43-75.
A. Hadi, Research and Evaluation Division, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), 75 Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
shirsha@bangla.net.
(BANGLADESH, EMIGRANTS, NON-MIGRANTS, PLACE OF ORIGIN, REMITTANCES, VALUE SYSTEMS, STANDARD OF LIVING.)
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85 ASIA-PACIFIC POPULATION JOURNAL, June 1999, Vol. 14, N° 2
00.85.7 - HOUSE, William J.; IBRAHIM, Nasiru.
Fertility patterns of adolescent and older women in Pacific island countries: Programme implications.
This study investigates whether adolescent birth rates are high and rising in the Pacific island countries, as is widely believed. Using census data, it finds that, with few exceptions, adolescent fertility has fallen in these countries and is relatively low in comparison with other developing regions of the world. However, it finds that childbearing among older women is significant, whereas the opposite is the case elsewhere in the developing world. It concludes by suggesting measures that could be taken to improve the quality of reproductive health services for all age groups, but especially among older women who face increased risks of infant and maternal mortality.
English - pp. 3-22.
W. J. House and N. Ibrahim, UNFPA Country Support Team, Suva, Fiji.
(OCEANIA, ADOLESCENT FERTILITY, FERTILITY DECLINE, MATERNAL AGE, MIDDLE AGED, FERTILITY RATE.)
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00.85.8 - JANOWITZ, Barbara; HOLTMAN, Matthew; JOHNSON, Laura; TROTTIER, Dorace.
The importance of field-workers in Bangladesh's family planning programme.
This article uses observations of client-provider interactions and two surveys of users of oral contraceptives to examine empirically the characteristics of home visits, including their duration and content, and clients' perceptions of their usefulness. The results show that the quality of field-worker visits is low and that clients do not value their content highly. Field-workers spend little tiine vatli clients during each contact, and the number of topics discussed is low. A high percentage of clients do not have correct information about oral contraceptives, and the vast majority view the home visit programme as a convenience and not as an important source of information. There is also some evidence that women would shift to other sources rather than cease contraceptive use if they had to pay for continued home delivery.
English - pp. 23-36.
B. Janowitz, M. Holtman, L. Johnson and D. Trottier, Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC, U.S.A.
(BANGLADESH, FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMMES, HOME VISITS, ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES, PROGRAMME EVALUATION.)
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00.85.9 - BARKAT-E-KHUDA, Nikhil; ROY, Chandra; RAHMAN, Mizanur.
Unmet contraceptive need in Bangladesh: Evidence from the 1993/94 and 1996/97 Demographic and Health Surveys.
Bangladesh has achieved considerable success in its family planning programme, resulting in a marked decline in fertility. Fertility preferences have also undergone changes. The desire for additional children declined appreciably over the past decade. Half of the currently married women of reproductive age do not want any more children, and over one third want to space childbearing. One in every six women has an unmet need: 8% each for spacing and limiting childbirth. Thus, there is a sizeable "demand" for family planning. This article analyses data from surveys. It finds strong and highly significant effects of ever use of family planning, husband-wife communications on family planning, age and number of living children on unmet contraceptive need.
English - pp. 37-68.
N. Barkat-E-Khuda, C. Roy and M. Rahman, Health and Population Extension Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
(BANGLADESH, DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEYS, FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMMES, NEEDS, DESIRED FAMILY SIZE.)
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