Subject(s)
Demography , Economics, Medical/history , Statistics as Topic/history , History, Modern 1601- , SurinameABSTRACT
This paper examines the fertility differentials by social class in Suriname in the 1960s and 1970s, and analyses the sudden stagnation in the decline in fertility that occurred between 1962 and 1974. Substantial differences in fertility by social class existed in the 1960s and 1970s in Suriname, with the number of liveborn children to mothers at each age during the childbearing period being higher for lower class than for middle class mothers. Both social classes contributed to the drop in overall fertility which occurred between 1962-74 although the middle class displayed the largest reduction in fertility. The stabilization of the fertility trend since 1974 is limited to the middle class which seems to have realized its ideal family size.
Subject(s)
Age Factors , Birth Rate , Cohort Studies , Data Collection , Demography , Economics , Family Characteristics , Fertility , Population Characteristics , Population Dynamics , Research Design , Research , Social Class , Socioeconomic Factors , Statistics as Topic , Americas , Developed Countries , Developing Countries , Population , South America , SurinameABSTRACT
The author examines the relationship between infant mortality and urban social structure using data collected in a lower class urban neighborhood in Paramaribo, Suriname, between 1979 and 1982. "The main results of this investigation point to an increase in infant mortality during the past years among a sample of 100 families in the neighbourhood. The analysis also shows that the rise in infant mortality was mainly due to a shortening of the duration of breastfeeding of the babies. This change in feeding practices in its turn, resulted from a shift in the survival strategies of the mothers associated with conflicting interests concerning land use in the inner city of Paramaribo." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND ITA)
Subject(s)
Agriculture , Breast Feeding , Infant Mortality , Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Lactation , Mortality , Social Class , Urban Population , Americas , Biology , Conservation of Natural Resources , Demography , Developed Countries , Developing Countries , Economics , Environment , Health , Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Physiology , Population , Population Characteristics , Population Dynamics , Pregnancy , Socioeconomic Factors , South America , SurinameABSTRACT
PIP: A rapid decline in fertility took place in Suriname between 1962 and 1974, and then stopped. While this sudden stabilization is surprising, it is not unusual. Similar trends have occurred in some Caribbean and Latin American countries. This article analyzes the post-1960 trend in fertility in Suriname and seeks to determine whether the 1962-74 fertility decline resulted from changes in socioeconomic conditions or was caused by the activities of the Suriname Family Planning Association. The measures used are the general fertility rate, the total fertility rate by ethnic group as well as by 5-year age groups, and gross and net reproduction rates by ethnic group. All the measures point to a rapid continuing decline of fertility between 1962 and 1974, followed by a rise. The data suggest that major socioeconomic changes had already been under way for some years, when fertility started to fall in 1962. The Suriname Family Planning Association was not founded until 1968, which implies that the organization did not start the decrease. However, once the organization was founded, it continually expanded its activities and made an obvious contribution to the use of contraceptives that increased significantly in the 1970s. It is concluded that the drop in fertility resulted from the process of modernization along with the rapid increase in the use of contraceptives.^ieng