birth control
Family planning Indonesia.

Singarimbun M.

PIP: The growth of family planning activities in Indonesia in the Postwar period is traced; and future prospects for family planning are assessed. Transmigration projects initiated by the Dutch and supported by President Sukarno after Indonesian independence as a means of decreasing population pressure on the island of Java, are identified as the only official response to the population problem until 1965. In the face of the government's opposition to the idea of birth control as a population control measure, the activities of the Indonesian Planned Parenthood Association (IPPA) after its founding in 1957 were limited to advising mothers on spacing of their children for health reasons. Statements made in support of a national family planning program by government officials at a 1967 IPPA Congress and on other occasions are noted. The major components of an approved national family planning program to start in 1969 are described. However, the government's policy as of late 1967 and early 1968 is characterized as one of mainly benevolent encouragement and help to voluntary organizations. The chief impediment to family planning in Indonesia is said to be a lack of motivation and the force of traditional values that favor large families. On the positive side are: 1) Studies showing considerable interest in birth control by the rural population; 2) A long history of traditional birth control practices; 3) The absence of outright opposition by religious groups to the principle of family planning. However, financial costs, the need for the training of personnel, and a general unawareness of the magnitude of the task lying ahead constitute other formidable obstacles.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12255494&dopt=Abstract birth control



birth control
[Demographic explosion: birth control and family planning]

[Article in Portuguese]

Alencar AV.

PIP: The history of theories opposing uncontrolled population growth and advocating birth control and family planning, and the debates that took place on this subject, are reviewed. The rapid population growth of recent times, with special emphasis on the case of the underdeveloped countries, and the spreading of birth control programs and policies are discussed. The debate in Brazil, with special reference to legal problems and to the position of the church with respect to birth control, is reviewed and discussed. It is concluded that family planning is necessary and should be favored, but never imposed by the state; it should be a responsible decision of the individuals concerned. Abortion as a birth control method is specifically condemned. Furthermore, the author attacks the advocates of zero population growth, maintaining that resources can be developed to support an increasing population.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12257388&dopt=Abstract birth control



birth control
Indonesia's family planning story: success and challenge.

Hull TH, Hull VJ, Singarimbun M.

PIP: A historical overview and descriptions of family planning programs in Indonesia are presented. 85 million of the 135 million inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago are concentrated on the island of Java, which comprises about 7% of the Indonesian land mass. The Dutch colonial government preferred a policy ("transmigration") which advocated the redistribution of population from Java to the other islands to relieve overpopulation. This policy was also advocated by President Sukarno after the Indonesian Revolution of 1940. The need for family planning was recognized by small groups, and official policy supported national family planning programs to replace transmigration programs only after Sukarno became president in 1966. The focus of the program was on Java and Bali, the 2 most populous islands. Local clinics became the locus for birth control efforts. Fieldworkers affiliated with the clinics were given the job of advocating birth control use door-to-door. Fieldworkers "incentive programs," area "target" (quota) programs, and "special drives" were organized to create new contraceptive "acceptors." A data reporting system and a research program increase the effectiveness of the family planning drive by ascertaining trends in contraceptive use which can determine where and how money and effort can best be applied. "Village Contraception Distribution Centers" bring the contraceptive means closer to the people than do the clinics. Figures from the years 1969-1977 show the great increase in acceptance of contraceptives by the inhabitants of the Java-Bali area. Steps are now being taken to alleviate the large monthly variations in the number of (often temporary) acceptors caused by the "target programs" and "special drives." The average acceptor is 27-years-old, has 2.6 children, has not finished primary school, and has a husband of low social status. Bali has shown the greatest success in family planning. It is a small island with a highly developed system of local clinics. The strong community structures on Bali encourage birth control use. Bali, which is predominantly Hindi, is more receptive to the IUD than Java, which is predominantly Muslim. In East Java, the authoritarian bureaucracy makes efficient use of its money. Central Java is making slow but steady progress in family planning. In West Java, fieldworkers are teamed with paramedics; there, door-to-door contraceptive supply was more effective than the clinic system. In many areas traditional methods, i.e., herbs, massage, total abstinence for long periods of time, etc., were favored. More educated women often do not use contraceptives for fear of side effects. The need for family planning on the outer Indonesian islands is not as great, but programs are being set under way. These programs are the beginning of an attempt to alleviate problems that could be encountered if Indonesia's population growth continues unchecked.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12260296&dopt=Abstract birth control



birth control
Planning families or checking population?

Lukk T.

PIP: South Africa has one of the highest birth rates (43/1000) and lowest death rates (15.5/1000) in Africa. The population growth rate is 2.7 per year; the population doubling time is 26 years. The black birth rate is about double that of whites. Blacks now represent about 70% of the population. By the year 2000 they will comprise 74%, compared to 14% whites. Birth control among blacks is viewed with suspicion since the apartheid regime encourages white reproduction and immigration. Black South African men have many prejudices against birth cotnrol. Many still have children by different wives. 38% South African men preferred to have 6-8 children. Young South African women are beginning to use birth control of their own volition. Birth control is associated with genocide, but family planning, in which the number and timing of children is determined by the parents is perceived to be desirable by South Africans.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12260802&dopt=Abstract birth control



birth control
Four fertility surveys based on master's theses submitted by Trinidad S. Osteria and Antonio R. Pacheco.

Murphy EM.

PIP: An average of 1500 women from each of 4 municipalities (Calasiao, Pangasinan; Ismus, Cavite; Miagao, Iloilo; and Tiwi, Albay) were interviewed in an effort to develop an informative fertility questionnaire that is relevant to the Philippines, that can be efficiently handled by the interviewers, and can elicit the desired information from the respondents. The following were among the survey results: 1) Imus and Calasiao were low fertility areas while Tiwi and Miagao were high fertility areas; 2) in Ismus, 1 of the 2 low fertility areas, 16% of the women admitted knowledge of birth control methods, while in the high fertility area of Miagao, 53% of the women had knowledge of birth control methods; 3) women 25-34 years of age had the fewest rejectors of birth control methods, while women over age 45 were most likely to reject birth control completely; 4) in Imus and Calasiao, the highest proportion admitting knowledge of birth control were women between the ages of 25 and 34; 5) in Miagao, knowledge of family planning and the percentage wishing to learn are inversely related to age; 6) the reason most often given in each area for the rejection of birth control was the fear of impairing health; and 7) spacing rather than ending childbearing was the most prevalent reason for trying birth control.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12261331&dopt=Abstract birth control



birth control
[Recent world fertility trends and their implications]

[Article in Japanese]

Hama H.

PIP: High fertility levels of 40-50% have continued in major parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. During the 1970's the upward fertility trend was seen in the socialistic countries. A downward trend in European countries began in the 1960's and accelerated in the 1970's. Declining tendencies of fertility were still slow in the 1970's in some Western countries. Fertility trends reflect government policies which are divided into 7 categories: 1) family planning has been disseminated freely in Western countries; 2) birth control was realized with legalized abortion influenced by the difficulties of the postwar period (Japan); family planning is promoted by the government to restrain the rapid population increase (most Asian countries); 4) some Asian countries have adopted policies of social welfare giving privilege to lower parity children and compulsive adaptation to birth control (Singapore, India, and South Korea); 5) a high level of fertility is recognized in relation to a new economic order and shortage of labor (Latin America); 6) recovery of fertility is desireable because socialistic welfare policies have resulted in low fertility (Eastern European countries); and, 7) social reform and birth control are promoted though "overpopulation" theory is rejected (China). Categories 1 and 4 recognize birth control and 5 and 7 deny it. Political organizations of 1 to 5 differ from those of 6 and 7. (Author's Modified)

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12261505&dopt=Abstract birth control



birth control
[The construction of the fertility model of variable parity from family planning practice]

[Article in Chinese]

Lin F.

PIP: Understanding the changing patterns of age specific fertility under the planning system is essential for building a fertility model which reflects birth control policy implementation in China. In building a Parity Variable Fertility Model, 4 basic elements are to be considered: 1) psychosocial, and physiological variables, 2) patterns of the total fertility rate and age-specific fertility rate, 3) socioeconomic development, and 4) distribution of parity-specific fertility. THe natural fertility of women is 17, calculated from a 309-years childbearing period, with 17% of non-susceptible time. In China, about 86% of natural fertility is suppressed by various factors. In this model, the following variables are included: 1) The first marriage ratio, which is the proportion of women in each age group which enters into a first marriage. The range and spread of this ratio is closely associated with the first birth. 2) The first birth ratio, which is the proportion of a marriage cohort to have a first birth each year. 3) the birth interval, which determines the distribution of second births. 4) Regulation coefficient B, which represents birth control regulations which approximately determine the number of second-parity or higher order births. The difference between the fertility level generated from the Parity Variable Fertility Model and reality depends on the implementation of birth control program, the assumptions on regulation coefficients, and changes in social and cultural factors. The model is easy to use, especially for areas where the marriage and fertility records of women of child-bearing are well kept.

Online source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12159312&dopt=Abstract birth control