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FERTILITY INTENTIONS AND EARLY LIFE HEALTH STRESS AMONG WOMEN IN EIGHT INDIAN CITIES: TESTING THE REPRODUCTIVE ACCELERATION HYPOTHESIS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2014

SANGITA KULATHINAL  and
MINNA SÄÄVÄLÄ
SANGITA KULATHINAL
Affiliation:
Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
MINNA SÄÄVÄLÄ*
Affiliation:
Population Research Institute, Väestöliitto, Helsinki, Finland
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

In life history theory, early life adversity is associated with an accelerated reproductive tempo. In harsh and unpredictable conditions in developing societies fertility is generally higher and the reproductive tempo faster than in more secure environments. This paper examines whether differences in female anthropometry, particularly adult height, are associated with fertility intentions of women in urban environments in India. The study population consists of women aged 15–29 (N=4485) in slums and non-slums of eight Indian cities in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of 2005–2006. Adult height is taken as a proxy for early childhood health and nutritional condition. Fertility intentions are examined by using two variables: the desire to have a child or another child, and to have it relatively soon, as indicative of accelerated reproductive scheduling. Evidence supporting the acceleration hypothesis is found in two urban frames out of 26 examined in a two-staged multinomial logistic model. In three cases, the relationship between fertility intentions and height is the opposite than expected by the acceleration hypothesis: taller women have a higher predictive probability of desiring a(nother) child and/or narrower birth spacing. Potential explanations for the partly contradictory relationship between the childhood health indicator and fertility intentions are discussed.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 47 , Issue 5 , September 2015 , pp. 632 - 649
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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