ABSTRACT
PIP: In the high fertility area of Bankole, a 1985 study of the value of children to the Banyankole was conducted. Information on marriage patterns, perceptions of the pros and cons of children, and the costs and benefits of extended families was obtained through a random sampling of 900 household and surveys of more than 1000 ever-married man and 1000 ever-married women. A total fertility rate of 8.7 exists for the area, with rate differences observed between socioeconomic groups. Of pastoralists, peasants, and cultivators, the pastoralists reported the lowest fertility rate of 7.1, compared to the highest rate from the cultivators of 10.3. Despite the effect of education, employment, and religion in increasing the age of first marriage from 18 years in 1969 to 21.5 by 1985, cultural practices persist in encouraging high fertility levels. Pastoralist male migration for work during dry season, and the female return to her parents' home following delivery may be 2 practices contributing to a comparative lower fertility rate among this group. Absence of taboos regarding postpartum sexual abstinence among the Banyankole is a determinant of high fertility for the Ankole as a whole. With recorded 4% annual growth in the area, and governmental budgetary constraints to shifting funds into the social service sector, politically, culturally, and socially acceptable population policies are needed to combat pronatalist customs of the Ankole.^ieng
