Modern and traditional fertility regulation in a Mexican community: the process of decision making.

TLDR: Using a 3-stage model of fertility as its theoretical framework anthropological and survey data from a semirural Mexican community are presented to illustrate the cultural obstacles that have hindered fertility decision making in the preconception stage and have channeled decision making on fertility regulation into the pregnancy and postnatal stages.

Abstract: Using a 3-stage model of fertility as its theoretical framework anthropological and survey data from a semirural Mexican community are presented to illustrate the cultural obstacles that have hindered fertility decision making in the preconception stage and have channeled decision making on fertility regulation into the pregnancy and postnatal stages. Although women perceived their susceptibility to conception a number of factors reduced their motivation or ability to regulate fertility. Among women or couples for whom the salience of fertility and motivation to limit family size was high contraception abstinence and lactation seemed to be the most widely known accepted and available methods to reduce susceptibility to conception. Other alternatives following birth included lending out the children during temporary periods of economic stress and in extreme cases infanticide. (Authors)