ABSTRACT
To understand the dynamics of fertility, the individual fertility motivation and interactions in fertility decision-making discussed in the preceding chapters need to be linked to quantitative fertility and contraception data. That is, we need to know not only what people say about their fertility perception, but also how they behave in practice. We need to know not only the processes through which local cadres and families mediate state policies, but also the outcomes of such mediation. It will show that in the village the age of childbirth has shifted downward, that the interval between marriage and first birth and between first and second birth are shorter; yet it will also show that the fertility level has been declining in the village since reforms. The pattern of contraception, abortion and sterilization, which affect the number and timing of births, also reflect changes in fertility motivation, in power relations within the family and in relations between families and the local authorities.
