Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0.001 Render date: 2024-06-03T10:01:44.923Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Seasonality of fertility in Matlab, Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Stan Becker
Affiliation:
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dacca, Bangladesh

Summary

From matched birth and census records in the Matlab area of Bangladesh, monthly fertility rates for the period 1970–74 are studied for seasonal patterns by age and parity. Trigonometric regression techniques are used to summarize and compare the multiple series. Pronounced seasonal patterns are apparent for all age and parity groups. The general fertility rate peaks in December with a seasonal variation of 42% above and below the mean level. For younger women at low parities the peak is in late October, while for older women of higher parity it is in January. The shift progresses linearly with age and parity though the age effect is the more pronounced. A seasonal pattern of fecundability which varies by age group could explain the shift.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bernard, R.P., Bhatt, R.V., Potts, D.M. & Rao, A.P. (1978) Seasonality of birth in India. J. biosoc. Sci. 10,409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloomfield, P. (1976) Fourier Analysis of Time Series: An Introduction. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Chen, L.C., Gesche, M.C. & Mosley, W.H. (1974) A prospective study of birth interval dynamics in rural Bangladesh. Popul. Stud. 28, 277.Google ScholarPubMed
Cowgill, U.M. (1966) The season of birth in man: contemporary situation with special reference to Europe and Southern Hemisphere. Ecology, 47, 614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durbin, J. & Watson, G.S. (1951) Testing for serial correlation in least squares regression II. Biometrika, 38, 159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dyson, T. & Cook, N. (1979) Season of births and deaths in developing countries. In: Proceedings of Conference on Seasonal Dimensions to Rural Poverty,University of Sussex,Brighton, England.Google Scholar
Hill, S.A. (1888) The life statistics of an Indian province. Nature, Lond. 38, 245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huffman, S.A., Chowdhury, A.K.M.A., Chakraborty, J. & Mosley, W.H. (1978) Nutrition and postpartum amenorrhea in rural Bangladesh. Popul. Stud. 32, 251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendall, M.C. & Stuart, A. (1968) The Advanced Theory of Statistics, Vol. 3, p. 361. Griffin, London.Google Scholar
Ministry of Health and Population Control (1978) Bangladesh Fertility Survey 1975–76, First Report. Government of the Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh, Dacca.Google Scholar
Stoeckel, J. & Chowdhury, A.K.M.A. (1972) Seasonal variation in births in rural East Pakistan. J. biosoc. Sci. 4, 107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vinod, H.D. (1976) Effects of ARMA errors on the significance tests for regression coefficients. J. Am. statist. Ass. 71, 929.CrossRefGoogle Scholar