Level and differentials of fertility in Awassa town, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

A cross-sectional, descriptive study with internal comparison was conducted among 1376 women of reproductive age with the objective of assessing the level and determinants of fertility in Awassa town,
Ethiopia. Total Fertility Rate (TFR) was 3.4 and the mean Child Ever Born (CEB) was 1.72 and 3.02 among all women and married women. Regarding proximate determinants of fertility, the mean age at
first marriage and duration of postpartum infecundability were 17.75 years and 12.3 months, respectively. Further, Contraceptive Prevalence Rate among married women was 41.2% and Total
Abortion Rate was 0.02. Sociodemographic characteristics of mothers like poor educational status, absence of income, rural place of birth, early marriage, and other variables like history of child death,
negative husbands’ attitude towards contraceptive use, poor educational status of husbands, need for additional children, were found to have significant association with high fertility; accordingly, these
variables need to addressed in activities against high fertility (Afr J Reprod Health 2009; 13[1]:93-112).