Women's Education and Fertility: Results from 26 Demographic and Health Surveys

(Martín, 1995)

• Policymakers in countries with high fertility rates are often focused in advancing their fertility decline, since rapid population growth can lead to a number of undesirable consequences for the economy, the environment, and public health (Martín, 1995).

  • It's generally believed that policies that empower individuals, particularly girls and women, realize their individual goals in life speed up the decline in fertility.

• Education and family planning have long been tied to lower fertility trends (Martín, 1995).

Do Incentives Matter?- Evaluation of a Family Planning Program in India

(Sunil, Pillai, & Pandey, 1999)

• Smaller, healthier families with more capable individuals are the product of family planning. Communities are less stressed with when it comes to public services, education, and health because there are fewer kids to treat and immunize (Sunil, Pillai, & Pandey, 1999).

• There are numerous advantages to family planning for the father, mother, and kids. It can enable mothers to regain their health after delivery. Along with giving more time to dedicate to her family and personal development (Sunil, Pillai, & Pandey, 1999).

• The pill, male and female sterilization, IUDs, injectables, implants, diaphragms, and male and female condoms, are examples of modern forms of contraception.

• Withdrawal, folk methods, and occasional abstinence are examples of traditional methods of family planning.

(Seltzer, 2002)

• Family planning programs in developing countries began due to concerns about a "world population problem" in the late 1940s and 1950s. Rapid population growth, resulting from declining mortality and high fertility, was evident in many developing countries (Seltzer, 2002).

• Family planning programs have been crucial public health interventions in developing countries and a component of development assistance programs. The three rationales for family planning programs have varied over the years, with demographic concerns being the predominant focus for the late 1960s and 1970s (Seltzer, 2002).

The Impact of Family Planning Programs on Unmet Need and Demand for Contraception

(Bongaarts, 2014)

• In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a large number of women who did not want to get pregnant were not using contraception (Bongaarts, 2014).

• The development of contraceptive methods like the pill in the 1960s sparked global interest in family planning, assuming women would adopt modern birth control to avoid unwanted pregnancies and increase fertility regulation, therefore making contraception widely available (Bongaarts, 2014).

Limits to Modern Contraceptive Use Among Young Women in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research

(Williamson, Parkes, Wight, Petticrew, & Hart, 2009)

• Hormonal techniques were not widely used by women due to a lack of access or expertise (Williamson, Parkes, Wight, Petticrew, & Hart, 2009).

• Condom use was restricted by their link to disease and promiscuity, despite the fact that they were frequently more accessible and perhaps more appealing than hormonal alternatives. Therefore, young women frequently turned to abortion or traditional methods (Williamson, Parkes, Wight, Petticrew, & Hart, 2009).

(Historical)

Family Planning Program Effects: Evidence from Microdata

(Miller & Babiarz, 2016)

• By enabling women to finish their education, enter the workforce, work more productively, earn higher wages, and increase savings and investments, improved reproductive health care—including voluntary family planning—can support economies and promote sustainable development (Miller & Babiarz, 2016).

• Preventing unintended pregnancies through programs can reduce unwanted births, unsafe abortions, and improve maternal and child health, contributing to poverty reduction and population growth slowdown (Miller & Babiarz, 2016).

From Developing Countries to Emerging Markets: A Changing Role for Law in the Third World

(Salacuse, 1999)

• When women achieve knowledge of contraception use, it could impact fertility through age at marriage, as marital patterns are closely linked to fertility. As a result, higher female education can postpone marriage and lead to later family formation (Salacuse, 1999).

• The importance of contraceptive education can be seen in the impact of knowledge on the choice and right and consistent use of contraception.

  • Contraceptive value is one of the most important considerations when choosing a method (Salacuse, 1999).

Family Planning Programs in the Third World

(Freedman, 1990)

• Since the birth of the pill, the pill has significantly altered women's health, fertility patterns, laws and policies, religion, family roles, women's employment, and gender relations (Freedman, 1990).

• The pill has also had a significant impact on social life. For example, the availability of the pill and the control it allowed over fertility played a major role in the rise of the women's rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s. This power gave women the freedom to choose in other spheres of life, particularly the workplace (Freedman, 1990).