Reporting of fertility events by men and women in rural Gambia.
We conducted a survey of male and female fertility in rural villages in The Gambia and compared men and women's reports of recent pregnancy events in the aggregate and of children ever born for matched couples. Despite widespread polygyny and sex differences in fertility, men's and women's reports were similar. Small sex differences in reports of recent stillbirths and neonatal deaths were found. For matched couples, husbands reported 0.23 more children ever born than their wives on average, but discordant reporting had little effect on recent marital fertility rates. Modeling of discordant reports indicates that fertility reports are more likely to be underestimated by both men and women for their earliest marriages. Reliable fertility data can be collected from men in this population.
Medical Research Council Laboratories, P.O. Box 273, Banjul. aaratcliffe@hotmail.com
Amy A
AA
Ratcliffe
Allan G
AG
Hill
David P
DP
Harrington
Gijs
G
Walraven
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001723:Birth Rate / Q000639:trends*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012424:Rural Population; D012650:Self Disclosure; D018454:Spouses / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology