Browsing by Author "Riwa, Peter N. M."

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    The effect of sex preference for children on fertility: a case study from two villages in Moshi rural district in Tanzania.
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1987) Riwa, Peter N. M.
    In spite of the substantial progress in the scientific understanding of human fertility in the past few decades, still significant areas of scientific ignorance remain. An important domain is the impact of the social, cultural and economic environment on human reproductive behaviour. Gender preference is a cultural element whose impact is yet to be fully appreciated. Questions of interest range from whether couples have tastes for their children with regard to their sex, to their sustenance over time to affect the completed family size. The most recent evidence has pointed to a relationship between contraceptive use rates among women and the number of sons and daughters they have to the suggestion that family composition influence the decision to stop child bearing. Although tastes are accepted to be a universal human value least is known on the plight of women not exposed to modern contraception technology. Likewise although breast feeding is observed to have a contraceptive effect no relationship as yet has been suggested between breast feeding practices and gender preference. In the present study a strong relationship is observed between family composition and size. This association is attributed to breast feeding practices whereby women succumb to a 'chasing syndrome' of weaning their children early than the normal practice to achieve the most preferred family composition.