Fertility and Family Life in an Indian Village

Abstract

The first author was a viting professor in the Department of Child Develoment, University of Baroda, Gujarat State, India. A long term study was undertaken of a sample of 66 families from four major casts. Including the author and his wife and six staff members interviewed and observed these families from 1963 to 1967. Followup interview were conducted for several year after. In the first year of the study, the findings indiated that a desired family size at that time was two sons and a daughter, that they did not want any method of control such as the IUD recommended by American advisors to the Indian Govermnet but wanted to keep having childen until they had the numbers desired. They preferred tubal ligation to vasectomy since the wife was not protected and if became pregnant as a result of extra marital relatioships. Also as one wife said, "My mother-in-law did not want her boy to be hurt." A follow-up study of the insertion and rejection rates in six Delhi clinics found the IUD was not acceptable.