ABSTRACT
PIP: Over the past few years advancements in family welfare programs have occurred in India. One state in the Indian Union, Tamil Nadu, has had significant success in its family planning strategies. Examined is the fertility trends over a period of years within this area. Focus is on fertility decline, calculated from changing birthrates. Decline was differentiated in terms of crude birth rates. Chosen were standardized birth rates adjusted for age (females 15-49 years old), and standardized birth rates adjusted for both age structure and marital status. Family planning programs in Tamil Nadu were classified according to periods of years - 1956-1971 as the pre-intensive program period, and 1971-1986 as the intensive program period. Methodology included simple correlation and regression with additional computations, and multilinear regression measuring impacts on fertility decline of a small number of various factors. Conclusions drawn showed a swift decline in fertility in Tamil Nadu from 1971-1988, more so than during the period of 1956-1971. Family welfare programs were examined as well as through 4 key variables: infant mortality rates, female employment, female educational attainment, and family planning utilization. All 4 variables have shown a positive influence on fertility decline in Tamil Nadu. Both crude and standardized birth rates, as shown by measuring births averted during 1986, can be effectively used in producing births averted in any particular future time period.^ieng
