Few studies have utilized person-centered approaches to examine co-occurrence of risk factors among pregnant women in low-and middle-income settings. The objective of this study was to utilize latent class analysis (LCA) to identify sociodemographic patterns and assess the association of these patterns on preterm birth (PTB) and/or low birth weight (LBW) in rural Mysore District, India. Secondary data analysis of a prospective cohort study among 1540 pregnant women was conducted. Latent class analysis was performed to identify distinct group memberships based on a chosen set of sociodemographic factors. Binary logistic regression was conducted to estimate the association between latent classes and preterm birth and low birth weight. LCA yielded four latent classes. Women belonging to Class 1 “low socioeconomic status (SES)/early marriage/multigravida/1 child or more”, had higher odds of preterm birth (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.77, 95% CI: 1.05-2.97) compared to women in Class 4 “high SES/later marriage/primigravida/no children”. Women in Class 2 “low SES/later marriage/primigravida/no children” had higher odds of low birth weight (aOR: 2.52, 95% CI: 1.51-4.22) compared to women in Class 4. Women less than 20 years old were twice as likely to have PTB compared to women aged 25 years and older (aOR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.08-3.71). Hypertension (>140/>90 mm/Hg) was a significant determinant of PTB (aOR: 2.28, 95% CI: 1.02-5.07). Furthermore, women with a previous LBW infant had higher odds of delivering a subsequent LBW infant (aOR: 2.15, 95% CI: 1.40-3.29). Overall study findings highlighted that woman belonging to low socioeconomic status, and multigravida women had increased odds of preterm birth and low birth weight infants. Targeted government programs are crucial in reducing inequalities in preterm births and low birth weight infants in rural Mysore, India.

This paper examines the levels, trends, patterns and Kuwaiti-non-Kuwaiti differentials in fertility, by socioeconomic variables and the major factors that may account for recent changes. Kuwaiti fertility is very high: in 1980, the crude birth rate was about 47 and the total fertility was 6–8 per woman. Childbearing still extends to later ages but fertility in the early and middle reproductive years has declined recently, as a result of the rise in age at marriage and the fall in the proportion of currently married women in the younger age groups. Non-Kuwaiti fertility is consistently lower, with total fertility at about 69% of the Kuwaiti level. This differential cannot be explained by the age structure of the populations alone. Analysis of completed fertility by education and economic activity status indicates an inverse relationship.

The extent to which it is possible to recognize distinctive patterns of marriage and fertility within sub-groups of the rural population is examined by an analysis of the fertility experience of 294 females who lived in a single village in southern Normandy at some period between 1901 and 1975. Aggregate analysis demonstrates the existence of differential fertility between classes. Examination of circumstantial evidence for individual sub-groups suggests that attitudes towards capital accumulation and inheritance are the major explanatory factors for these differentials.

In recent years both the prevalence and duration of breast-feeding have decreased, especially in urban areas of the developing world (McCann et al., 1981). While the majority of births in these areas continue to be attended by traditional birth attendants, the proportion of mothers giving birth in hospitals is increasing. The potential for hospital personnel and practices to affect infant feeding preferences is likely to increase as the trend towards hospital births continues.

This paper examines patterns of fertility and family planning in China, particularly by an analysis of recently available provincial data for the period around 1981. Fertility rates in the more urban and developed parts of China are very low, approximating those of countries with the lowest fertility rates in the world. Family planning in these areas is also very common and widespread. The more rural and interior areas of China, however, are characterized by much higher fertility rates and by much lower family planning rates. Family planning variables are very good predictors of provincial fertility.

A rapid decline in fertility took place in Suriname between 1962 and 1974, and then stopped. While this sudden stabilization is surprising, it is not unusual. Similar trends have occurred in some Caribbean and Latin-American countries. The 1962–74 fall in fertility in Suriname seems to have been due to a combination of socioeconomic factors and the activities of the Suriname Family Planning Association, founded in 1968.

The population of African countries, typical of developing countries, is characterized by the large proportion of children and young people. An almost perfect pyramid illustrates the age distribution of Ghana's population (Text-fig. 1).

Projections of future population point to a further rise in the proportion of children (0–15 years of age) from the present 45% to 47–49% by the year 1980. The children of today will be the parents of tomorrow and for the adolescents the statement can be taken literally; the study of adolescents and their sexual and fertility problems, therefore, needs urgent attention. Especially in black Africa, these problems cannot be studied in isolation from the traditional, cultural and socio-economic environment. Indeed much of the psychosexual trauma of this group is closely interwoven with their complex backgrounds.

This paper explores factors affecting the fertility of islanders off the north coast of Sri Lanka, the centre of concentration of the Sri Lanka Tamils. The variables contributing most to the fertility variation among Grama Sevaka divisions, are the proportions of elderly in the population, of females employed to total employed, and of females aged 5–14 attending school. Overall, however, only 43% of the total fertility variation is explained, considerably less than in other Sri Lanka areas studied.

A group of 20 brain-damaged (BD) subjects was added to the canonical analysis, reported earlier, of mandibular symphysis shape, in the following groups: (1) Down's syndrome (DS), (2) familial idiopathic sub-normality (FIS), (3) intermediate intelligence (II), and (4) high intelligence (HI). Significant separations between means were found for all pairs of groups, except only II–HI. The separation between the BD and FIS groups supports the hypothesis that a genetic mechanism (pleiotropy) underlies the link between intelligence and symphysis shape, but environmental influences probably account for most of the separation between the BD and the two normal groups. The findings have implications for the study of behaviour genetics

Although abortion is still illegal in the Philippines it appears to be increasing. This article reviews the methods to which women wanting to terminate a pregnancy resort, in spite of the health risks attached to them; these traditional practices include the use of herbal and pharmaceutical preparations supposedly with abortifacient properties, catheter insertion, abdominal massage and dilatation and curettage. It then goes on to discuss menstrual data from the records of two doctors in one ciry who are amongst the relatively small number of people in the country who are using the technique at the present time.

In the past 20 years at least 54 countries have passed legislation setting or raising the minimum age at marriage. How successful this legislation will be is questionable, especially when it runs counter to prevailing social and cultural institutions and beliefs, but it does reflect the growing international concern with delaying marriage. The deleterious consequences of early marriage are most evident in high birth rates and low status of women, both of which prevent poor countries from developing. Concern for postponing marriage has evolved from the larger objectives of stemming population growth and of guaranteeing women their basic rights. To raise the standard of health and education of the mother thus improves the welfare of the family.

This paper investigates the behavioural aspects of health care use for Jordanian children from birth to 3 years using data from a national survey. Statistical analysis indicate differences in the determinants of the use of paediatric care and immunisation: whereas immunisation coverage was already good in 1983 (and has improved subsequently), paediatric care is used for fewer than half of the children under 1 year of age. Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the population, especially female education, and maternal health care use, are important determinants of these patterns of child health care. The absence of differences in paediatric care and immunisation by sex of the child are discussed.

The association between early reproductive events and health status in later life has always been of interest across disciplines. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there was an association between the number of children born in the early years of elderly women and their depression in later life based on a sample of older women aged 65 years and above with at least one child in rural China. Data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey in 2018, this study used the ordinary least square method to conduct empirical research. This study has found a significant correlation between an increase in the number of children and depression in older rural women. When considering the sex of the child, the number of daughters had a greater and more significant impact on depression. Number of children may exacerbate depression of older women through declining self-rated health and reduced social activity, while increased inter-generational support alleviated depression. The association between number of children born and depression also existed in urban older women, though not significant. Therefore, it is suggested to accelerate the improvement of supporting policies related to childbirth, developing a healthy and scientific fertility culture, and improving rural maternal and child health services. Women should be assisted in balancing their roles in the family and in society, and in particular in sharing the burden of caring for children. Targeted efforts to increase old-age protection for older people.

In this study the construct of a ‘good life’ was explored among upper secondary school senior pupils and their parents and teachers by applying cultural consensus model analysis. A total of 469 students, 474 parents and 158 teachers from four Croatian cities participated in the study, which was conducted in 2011/2012. The information collected through interviewing and free-listing during the first phase of the study was used to create a set of structured questionnaire questions as a part of the survey in the second phase of data collection. The results are reported on two good-life sub-domains: ‘health & well-being’ and ‘migration & socioeconomic milieu’. The results indicate heterogeneity of the sample groups, incomplete inter-generational transmission of cultural values and examples of two sub-groups that resist cultural norms and do not comply with the dominant ‘competence-as-sharing’ paradigm. The value of testing the cultural consensus model based on the emic approach and locally significant phenomena is demonstrated for planning and conducting holistic anthropological research.

This study examines the links between migration and sexual and reproductive health among rural-to-urban migrant youth in Haiti. It evaluates behavioural, knowledge and attitudinal components from the perspective of three competing explanations for migrants’ behaviours: adaptation, disruption and selection. Discrete-time event history analysis is employed to compare these hypotheses using Haiti Demographic and Health Survey data (N=1215 adolescent girls, N=829 adolescent boys). Multi-level models are used to compare changes in knowledge and attitudes in individuals using data from the Haiti Youth Transitions Study (N=223). The findings reveal that disruption is the most plausible explanation for the timing of migration and first sex among girls. However, contrary to the assumption that migrant youth risk experiencing first sex earlier, girls are less likely to experience first sex near the time they migrate, and rural-to-urban migrant boys may experience first sex at later ages. The high aspirations of migrant youth provide a likely explanation for these findings. Furthermore, male migrants accumulate less protective knowledge, which is consistent with the disruption hypothesis, and migrants endorse premarital sex similarly to non-migrants. Sexual and reproductive health curricula should be adapted to the unique needs of migrant youth, and youth should be targeted before they migrate.

Central obesity has been associated with the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in children. A total of 358 Delhi school girls aged 6–11 years were measured for height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference. The study demonstrates a linear correlation between body mass index (BMI) and waist and hip circumference and suggests an indirect method of estimating waist and hip circumferences, whose high values may be used for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Further investigations on different groups are needed to substantiate these results and attribute BMI a predictive value in the clinical setting for the risk and diagnosis of childhood obesity-related metabolic disorders.