Proximate Determinants of Fertility in Ghana

Abstract

The study examines trends in the proximate determinants of fertility (sexual activity, contraception, and postpartuminfecundability) in Ghana over a decade (from 1998 to 2008) with a view to finding out their contributions to fertility decline and explaining the factors responsible for fertility decline in the country . The study was mainly based on data collected from the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys carried out in 1998 2003 and 2008. Four thousand eight hundred and forty three(4,843) female respondents were interviewed in 1998, 5,691 in 2003 and 4,916 in 2008. The study utilizes Stover‟s reformulation of Bongaarts‟ model of proximate determinant. The findings show that postpartum infecundability has a farmore dominant inhibiting effect on fertility than the other proximate fertility determinants and has been relatively stable over the decade. The findings of the study further show that forage at first sexual intercourse, women in the rural areas initiate sexual intercourse a year earlier than those in the urban areas except in the 1998 survey, where those in the rural and urban areas initiated sexual intercourse at the same age. Age at first sexual intercourse increases as the level of education increases from secondary to higher education. The age at first sexual intercourse remains the same from no education to primary education (17years). Age at first intercourse remains relatively stable across age groups within the regions. Brong Ahafo had the lowest mean age at first sexual intercourse(16 years in1998). Overall the mean age at first sexual intercourse for the regions ranges between 17 and 18 years. The Northern region had the highest percentage reduction in fertility due to the index of postpartum infecundability, Upper East and Upper West also had very high percentage reduction due to Index of Postpartum infecundability. The index of Postpartum infecundability had the highest fertility inhibition effect in 1998, 2003 and 2008 for both rural and urban areas with the rural areas having the highest. In all the regions in Ghana, Greater Accra had highest percentage reduction due to abortion. The inhibiting effect of abortion is relatively high in the In 1998, induced abortion had the lowest fertility inhibition effect.