In the heart of rural Tanzania, a fascinating story unfolds, challenging our preconceived notions about fertility and family planning. Despite improved access to contraceptives and education, fertility rates remain high, presenting a unique puzzle for researchers and policymakers. Let's delve into this intriguing narrative and uncover the factors influencing family size in this region.
A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Lewis & Clark College sheds light on the desired fertility of men and women in rural Tanzania. The study, led by Assistant Professor Catalina Herrera Almanza, explores the complex dynamics influencing family planning decisions in this context.
But here's where it gets controversial... While it's commonly believed that better access to contraception and education leads to smaller families, the researchers found that people in poor, rural areas are often choosing to have large families for strategic economic reasons.
Aine Seitz McCarthy, co-author of the study, explains, "For households that depend on agricultural labor, wanting more children can make economic sense." This perspective challenges the conventional wisdom that improved access to family planning automatically leads to smaller families.
The study evaluated the results of a 15-month family planning program in Tanzania's Meatu district, which aimed to educate local women about birth spacing and contraceptive safety. The researchers followed 515 households, randomly assigning them to three groups: joint consultations for couples, individual consultations for wives, and a control group.
Before the intervention, the average age of participants was 37 for men and 30 for women, and they already had five children. A staggering 89% of women were not using contraception.
And this is the part most people miss... The program revealed that most couples had never discussed their desired family size before. Herrera Almanza notes, "The program triggered the opportunity for these men and women to learn about their spouse's fertility preferences. About two-thirds of couples had never talked about it."
The researchers found that men, on average, wanted 4 more children, while women desired 2.4. However, after participating in joint consultations, both spouses' fertility preferences increased. Husbands desired an additional 0.77 children, and women increased their desired fertility by 1.6 children.
Interestingly, the results were driven by women in polygamous marriages, which accounted for nearly a third of the sample. Herrera Almanza explains, "In polygamy, this can be strategic behavior where women want children for security and land inheritance."
Older women were also more likely to increase their fertility preferences, possibly reflecting a strategic desire to maximize their reproductive potential.
The researchers speculate that power dynamics within relationships may have influenced the results, with women potentially saying they want more children to appease their husbands. However, they found no evidence of this, and empowered women were more likely to increase their fertility preferences.
People were generally receptive to learning about contraceptives, but they wanted to use them to space out their children, not to have fewer children. This aligns with Tanzania's Ministry of Health policy, which recommends spacing children two years apart for better health outcomes.
The study highlights the dichotomy between contraceptive uptake and the preference for large families. McCarthy suggests, "If the policy goal is to address women's desired fertility and promote healthier birth spacing, joint family planning consultations might be more effective, but avoiding direct questions about desired family size."
While this study focused on fertility preferences, the researchers are conducting follow-up interviews, and preliminary results indicate that women are having the number of children they indicated.
The study, "Strategic responses to disparities in spousal desired fertility: experimental evidence from rural Tanzania," is published in the Journal of Population Economics, offering valuable insights into the complex dynamics of fertility and family planning in this region.
