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pubmed:otherAbstract |
PIP: Major findings from an analysis of demographic information collected in a 1979 survey in the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) are that: levels of contraceptive use are extremely low in the rural areas that constitute most of the nation and considerably higher in the capital, Sana'a; fertility is very high and, until recently, was higher in Sana'a than in rural areas; mortality of children is very high with small urban-rural differentials; breastfeeding durations tend to be short, considering Yemen's extremely low level of development; and, female infants appear to be breastfed longer than male infants in Sana'a, a phenomenon never previously documented. It is argued that the observed convergence between fertility levels in Sana'a and rural Yemen results from increased contraception in Sana'a, which offsets fertility differences caused by longer breastfeeding in rural areas. Background characteristics surveyed include literacy of husband, rural or urban residence, presence of electricity, and if husband lived at home or away. Characteristics are correlated to duration of marriage; distribution of children by age; % of women and those at risk of pregnancy using contraception; mean number of total live births per woman; mean length of interbirth intervals; % of women currently pregnant; % of children surviving to interview; % of children ever breastfed; and % distributions of age at which bottle milk was 1st given to infants.
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