Fertility

About: Fertility is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 29988 publications have been published within this topic receiving 681106 citations.

Fertility and women's employment in industrialized nations

Abstract: The association between fertility and womens labor force activity reflects the incompatibility between caring for the children and participating in economically productive work that typifies industrialized societies. Women who wish to participate in the labor force must either limit their fertility or make alternative arrangements for the care of their children. As a result fertility rates in most countries are below the level needed for population replacement and rising proportion of children are in non-maternal care while their mothers work. In the assumption that women either limit their fertility to accommodate their force activity or they adjust their labor force behavior to their fertility evidence suggests that women do both. A substantial body of individual-level research describes the various strategies by which women in industrialized settings accommodate their employment patterns to their fertility and their fertility to their labor force participation. The evidence also suggests that strategies vary across national settings and that the ability to combine labor force participation and motherhood varies across countries.

Role of sperm chromatin abnormalities and DNA damage in male infertility

Abstract: Sperm DNA integrity is essential for the accurate transmission of genetic information. It has a highly compact and complex structure and is capable of decondensation-features that must be present in order for a spermatozoon to be considered fertile. Any form of sperm chromatin abnormalities or DNA damage may result in male infertility. In support of this conclusion, it was reported that in-vivo fecundity decreases progressively when > 30% of the spermatozoa are identified as having DNA damage. Several methods are used to assess sperm chromatin/DNA, which is considered an independent measure of sperm quality that may yield better diagnostic and prognostic approaches than standard sperm parameters (concentration, motility and morphology). The clinical significance of this assessment lies in its association not only with natural conception rates, but also with assisted reproduction success rates. Also, it has a serious impact on the offspring and is highly prognostic in the assessment of fertility in cancer patients. Therefore, screening for sperm DNA damage may provide useful information in cases of male idiopathic infertility and in those men pursuing assisted reproduction. Treatment should include methods for prevention of sperm DNA damage.

Births: Final Data for 2014.

Abstract: This report presents 2014 data on U.S. births according to a wide variety of characteristics. Data are presented for maternal age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, marital status, attendant at birth, method of delivery, period of gestation, birthweight, and plurality. Birth and fertility rates are presented by age, live-birth order, race and Hispanic origin, and marital status. Selected data by mother's state of residence and birth rates by age and race of father also are shown. Trends in fertility patterns and maternal and infant characteristics are described and interpreted.

On the quantum and tempo of fertility.

Abstract: ESTIMATES OF FERTILITY are among the most widely used demographic statistics. In many developing countries recent levels and trends in fertility are avidly watched by policymakers, family planning program managers, and demographers to determine whether and how rapidly fertility is moving in the desired downward direction. In much of the developed world, where fertility is now at historic lows, these same statistics are examined for signs of an upturn in fertility back to the replacement level needed to prevent future declines in population size. Given this interest in measuring human reproduction, it is desirable for users of fertility statistics to understand the strengths and weaknesses of available indicators. It is particularly important to avoid basing policies on statistics that give potentially misleading information. Although the demographic literature offers many measures of fertility, the total fertility rate (TFR) is now used more often than any other indicator. The TFR is defined as the average number of births a woman would have if she were to live through her reproductive years (ages 1549) and bear children at each age at the rates observed in a particular year or period. It is a hypothetical measure because no real group of women has experienced or will necessarily experience these particular rates. The actual childbearing of cohorts of women is given by the completed fertility rate (CFR), which measures the average number of births 50-year-old women had during their past reproductive years. The CFR measures the true reproductive experience of a group of women, but it has the disadvantage of representing past experience: women currently aged 50 did most of their childbearing two to three decades ago when they were in their 20s and 30s. The advantage of the TFR is that it measures current fertility and therefore gives up-to-date information on levels and trends in fertility. Another reason for the popularity of the TFR is its ease of interpretation compared with some other measures. Most interested persons will have little

The Cultural Context of High Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract: Sub-Saharan Africa may offer greater resistance to fertility decline than any other world region as a result of a lineage-based traditional belief system. Traditional African religious values have sustained high fertility in 2 ways: 1stthey have acted directly to equate fertility with virtue and reproductive failure with sin and 2nd they have provided support for a system of upward flows of wealth. The African family structure generally places reproductive decision making in the hands of the husband and the economic burden for the support of children on the shoulders of the wife. Because of the weakness of the conjugal bond men tend not to realize the full burden of reproductive decisions. Thus reproductive decisions and behavior are only loosely related to the subsequent dependency burden. On the other hand there are signs of a destabilization of this high fertility system. At the individual level growing numbers of women in sub-Sahara Africa are facing economic difficulties and would like to take defensive action to limit births. At the national level there are recurrent problems with faltering economic growth and uncertain food supplies. Secular influences such as models of the family taught by the media and the schools may help make the conjugal family more dominant than homage to living ancestors. The demand for female contraceptive methods in sub-Sahara Africa is likely to grow. The pill and the IUD will probably be most employed but a demand for injectables and implants can be expected as well. However the authors predict that radical fertility declines should not be expected in sub-Saharan Africa during this century. In the absence of radical change in government attitudes toward family planning the crude birth rate is not likely to fall from its present level of 47/1000 to much less than 45/1000 by the year 2000.