How does child loss shape the fertility and contraceptive behavior? A study using Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data

Experience of death of a child may have significant influence on the fertility intention and consequently on the contraceptive behavior of the married women. 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. Poisson regression models revealed that the relative risk of having children for the loss of a son was 1.168, which was 1.178 for the loss of a daughter. Binary logistic regression models suggested that respondents were 0.704 times and 0.872 times significantly less likely to use contraception for the loss of a son and a daughter respectively than their counterparts. This study recommends that reproductive health programs and child immunization programs should be strengthened to reduce the child mortality. Proper counseling is also necessary to minimize the shock due to child loss.