Impact of the Loss of a Child on Fertility and Contraception among Married Women in Bangladesh

Mohammad Amirul Islam, Bangladesh Agricultural University

This paper evaluates the impact of child loss on the fertility and contraception among married women in Bangladesh using the data (N=10146) from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007. About 14% of the married women experienced a loss of at least one son while 12.8% lost their daughters during their reproductive life span. Among the currently married women 10% had no children, 19.6% had one child and the rest had two or more children. About 55% of the respondents were currently using contraceptive methods. A Poisson regression model revealed that respondents who experienced a child loss were more likely to have more children than their counterparts. In addition, a binary logistic regression model suggested that respondents experiencing loss of a child were less likely to use contraceptives than their counterparts. Apart from the child loss experience, other important factors were identified in the regression analyses that have policy relevance.