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Fertility control without modernization: evidence from a rural Indian community

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Carol Vlassoff
Carol Vlassoff
Affiliation:
Department of Demography, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, University of Poona, India
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Summary

Data from a survey of 349 fertile married women are used to examine the significance of cultural context for contraceptive behaviour in a traditional Indian village. While sterilization was widely sanctioned, other methods were little known, favoured or used. Relationship with modernization indicators also varied for different contraceptive techniques.

Traditional respondents were as favourable towards sterilization as modern women, but modern women were significantly more likely to accept other methods. These results are attributed to differential government efforts which have placed almost exclusive emphasis upon sterilization. It is argued that an expanded family planning programme would overcome the inertia of tradition concerning non-terminal contraception.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , July 1979 , pp. 325 - 339
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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