This examination of the effect of birth spacing on infant and child mortality in rural Nepal is based on data from the Nepal Fertility Survey 1976 carried out by the Nepal Family Planning and Maternal Child Health Project in collaboration with the World Fertility Survey. The study confirms that the higher risk of infant death to first-born children is mainly due to the higher proportions of younger women having first births, rather than due to their being first order births per se. The effect of maternal age on infant and child mortality is largely associated with birth interval. Previous birth interval, therefore, stands out as the most important factor affecting infant mortality; the next most important factor is the survival of the preceding child.

A rapid decline in fertility took place in Suriname between 1962 and 1974, and then stopped. While this sudden stabilization is surprising, it is not unusual. Similar trends have occurred in some Caribbean and Latin-American countries. The 1962–74 fall in fertility in Suriname seems to have been due to a combination of socioeconomic factors and the activities of the Suriname Family Planning Association, founded in 1968.

The paper explores factors that influence fertility levels in Sri Lanka. It shows that three environmental variables and two socioeconomic variables explain 76–4% of the variance among districts.

The campaign for one-child families in the People's Republic of China has created world-wide interest. This study compares the general rates of single-child families in China and in 60 other countries and shows that China's current rate (12.5) is relatively low in comparison with some developed countries, e.g. Hungary (25.0). The mean age-specific single-child rate for 54 less developed countries shows a different pattern from that for seven developed countries; this is likely to be due to the later age of marriage and longer birth intervals of women in the developed countries.

A survey conducted in 1975, as part of the World Fertility Survey programme, provided evidence that fertility began to decline in Pakistan during the early 1970s. Because of the low level of contraceptive use recorded in that survey, the fertility decline was attributed to delayed marriage. However, a second and similar survey conducted approximately 5 years later showed almost exactly the same pattern of very recent decline, and indeed a reduction in contraceptive use. The two surveys disagreed for the period of overlap. It is concluded that there were essentially no changes in fertility during the decade, and that it remained at pre-1970 levels.

This paper considers how changes in women's socio-cultural characteristics have influenced recent patterns of differential fertility in the United States and whether the convergence of fertility differentials observed up to 1970 has continued. Analysis of data from the June 1980 United States Current Population Survey, suggests that there has been no change in differential fertility in recent years. Age at first birth, length of first birth interval, income and education were all negatively associated with fertility, among both older and younger women. When fertility expectations were examined, however, the association of the independent variables with expected completed fertility was weaker among younger women, indicating that there has been some convergence in expected completed fertility. Further narrowing of differentials in actual fertility depends on how successful the younger women are in preventing future unplanned births.

In Matlab thana, a rural area of Bangladesh, there is a substantial deficit of males of reproductive age owing to urban migration of males who leave their families behind. These men nevertheless return to visit their families frequently. Thirty percent of the births in this area occur to families with migrant fathers: neonatal mortality rates in these families are nearly double those of families with non-migrant fathers. This high risk, in turn, interacts with educational attainment and maternal nutrition. Only those migrant families where mothers have no education or low body weight experience high neonatal mortality rates. Psychological stress during pregnancy, probably caused by fear and anxiety related to the husband's absence may in part be responsible for such differential risk of mortality during the neonatal period.

Data were analysed from the 1973 surveys of the Nigerian segment of the Changing African Family (CAFN) Project which covered Yoruba women and men in Ibadan and the western state of Nigeria. The Yoruba women in monogamous unions and those in polygynous unions show slightly varying levels of fertility, measured as mean number of children ever born. Most of this variation can be attributed to other variables; type of union of the women does not significantly affect their fertility level.

This study examines the influence of Islam and Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism) on fertility in rural Sierra Leone. Analyses using number of children ever born and number of living children for currently married women of childbearing ages 15–49 as measures of fertility show that Muslim fertility is lower than either Catholic or Protestant fertility net of relevant demographic and socioeconomic variables.

The interaction between wife's educational level and her religious affiliation was statistically significant for number of children ever born but not for number of living children. Religion is shown to be an important factor in differentiating fertility behaviour at different educational levels. Among wives with no schooling, differences in religion lead to small fertility differentials; among those with primary or higher education, the fertility differentials are substantial.

This study tests the proposition that the contribution of environmental factors to the reduction of infant mortality early in the twentieth century was greater than that made by the alleviation of poverty. The estimates were obtained from retrospective reports of women enumerated at the 1911 Census, and covered the period from approximately 1895 to 1910. Infant mortality by father's occupation underwent an average decline of 35% from a peak infant mortality rate (IMR) of 132, with wide variation. The removal of poor (usually urban) residential conditions was probably associated with the decline, but, except at the extremes, income did not explain the differences. In the 97 great towns, the subject of this study, where the average decline in IMR was also 35% from a peak of 146, the rate of urbanization over 20 years accounted for a significant proportion of the differential decline, and measures of poverty added little to the explanation. This conclusion survived multivariate analysis using urban development and poverty level as explanatory variables, and controlling for fertility decline and selective migration.

The fertility of the Sudanese population (North) is close to natural. The high observed fertility rate in Sudan is found to be a function of the high proportion married and ineffective family planning procedures. The main inhibitor is prolonged lactational amenorrhoea. The high level of fertility exists in spite of a low level of fecundability. The duration of separation between spouses, due to temporary or seasonal migration of husbands, and the pathological causes of high primary sterility, which contribute to the low fecundability, need further investigation.

A sample of 1871 women having a child under 3 years old in Bas Zaire was studied to determine the correlates of breast-feeding practices and to examine the interrelationships among breast-feeding, contraceptive practices and desire for pregnancy. Socioeconomic factors that were related to the length of breast-feeding include economic status, maternal education, migration status, urban residence, pregnancy and sex of the index child. Among non-pregnant women, current desire for pregnancy also was related to breast-feeding status when the length of time since birth of the last child was taken into account. Rural women were reportedly ready for another pregnancy sooner after the birth of their last child than were urban women. On the other hand, urban women were much less likely to be practising traditional abstinence or other effective methods of contraception.

Birth records of Hutterite colonies were examined for the presence of seasonal variation in conception rate. Month of conception was inferred by counting back 9 months from date of birth. Over 4300 births, occurring between 1758 and 1964 and spanning the years that the colonies inhabited the Ukraine and then migrated to the United States and Canada, were included in the analysis. When combined, the European and North American births showed a seasonal pattern with a general rise in conceptions from December to June followed by a decline in conceptions from July to November. The major peaks in conceptions were in April and June, with a minor peak in December. Separate examination of the European and American records revealed a secular change. The seasonality of North American conceptions was dramatically reduced when compared to the very distinct European seasonal pattern. It is assumed that both biological and cultural factors are responsible for the seasonal variation observed. The influences of light cycle, date of marriage, and work and holiday schedules on conception rates are discussed.

Census data were used to investigate the influences of socioeconomic and environmental variables on child mortality rates in southern Brazil. By multivariate logistic regression analysis the effects of correlated factors were distinguished, after adjustment for maternal age and parity. Low family income and, to a lesser degree, low employment status of the head of the family were associated with high child mortality levels. Place of residence, education of the mother and of the head of the family, availability of piped water in the home, access to a toilet and type of housing were all associated with childhood mortality variation, even after allowing for the effects of income and employment. The contributions of the source of the water supply and type of sanitation facilities, however, were less clear and tended to become unimportant after controlling for the socioeconomic variables. There was also no apparent advantage in being covered by government health insurance.

Seasonal variations in cause- and age-specific suicide rates in males and females were analysed in Osaka, Japan, for the years 1974–83, using profile analysis. Significant cause differences were found in males: (1) the rate for poisoning by domestic, car-exhaust or other gases was high in winter and spring and low in summer and autumn; (2) the rate for hanging, strangulation and suffocation was low in winter; (3) the rate for a variety of violent methods (chemicals, firearms, drowning, etc.) was high in summer. Similarly, there were sex differences in the variation for causes (2) and (3) and for ages 40–54. No significant age difference was found in either sex. Seasonal differences in the ease of suicidal methods and sex- and season-specific psychosocial factors were thought to be the major determinant of the seasonal variation.

Ahmad, Gilbert & Naqui (1985) note that there is a substantial and significant positive correlation between the heights of spouses in Pakistani arranged marriages. This was so even in those cases where the spouses had not seen one another before the ceremony. They offer three possible explanations. I should like to suggest another.

Data from the 1974 Korean National Fertility Survey indicate levels, trends, and socioeconomic differentials in adult mortality in the Republic of Korea. The indirect techniques of parental survival and the time location of mortality are used to estimate mortality levels and to discern time trends in adult mortality. Socioeconomic variables are considered for their relationship with levels of adult mortality. The index of household wealth (based on the ownership of modern goods, size and space of household) and education stand out as the most important differentials in adult mortality. The trend in mortality decline is most pronounced for the subgroups representing higher levels of educational attainment and greater ownership of modern goods even after adjusting for the interrelationship between these two variables.

Forty-two single women who want to be childless, eighteen who desire a one child family, and 42 who want two children responded to questions about the quality of their present lives, and nature of future marriages. The groups of women were closely matched for age and education, and on current quality of life there were few differences. They had similar levels of positive and negative affect, and described life as enjoyable, interesting and contented. Those wanting to be childless, however, rated life as less optimistic and less loving, and also as currently somewhat less satisfying, but life satisfaction was still quite high. These early deciders of childlessness, and those wanting only one child, wanted to be financially and socially more independent in future marriage-type relationships than women wanting at least two children. They also expected to follow interests and careers to their fullest, wanted more role innovative partners, and were somewhat less concerned about home ownership, living to a budget, and keeping contact with family and friends. All women placed considerable importance on the need for trust, self-disclosure and open communication in a relationship, although the voluntarily childless rated more highly the need for intellectual stimulation and for each partner to be happy about the success of their mate. Compared to women wanting two children, those wanting to be childless expected a partner to perform a wide range of non-traditional roles in the home.

The effects of socioeconomic and geographical factors on age-specific mortality by suicide in men were assessed in 46 Japanese prefectures (counties) by stepwise regression analysis twice at 5-year intervals, before and after a serious economic crisis. The following factors were significantly related to the mortality in the two years: (1) the proportion of old and young men in the population for young men; (2) low income for middle-aged men; and (3) rural residence for elderly men. The mortality significantly increased after the crisis in young and middle-aged men, while no significant alteration was observed in elderly men. It is suggested that young and middle-aged men are more sensitive to socioeconomic changes in society while elderly men are mainly affected by the factor of rural residence.