Gender roles, relationship insecurity and decisions about childbearing in the Informal Settlements of Nairobi

Urbanisation is occurring rapidly in Sub-Saharan Africa and with it comes significant social change. Towns and cities are places where there are a myriad of social values and expectations placed upon relationships and childbearing; in this rapidly changing environment conjugal relationships become increasingly unstable, which is thought to increase women’s uncertainty about having children. Current evidence shows that reproductive uncertainty is associated with ambiguous fertility intentions and lengthening birth intervals. Using data from six focus group discussions conducted in two informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya, this research aims to explore the nature of relationships in an urban environment and how they impact upon the timing of births and the number of children women desire. Early results show that relationships are influenced by the environment of the informal settlement, in particular the high levels of financial insecurity. Changing gender roles, specifically increased economic participation amongst women, are altering the perceived costs of bearing children and leading to smaller desired family sizes and to longer birth intervals. In addition, there is pervasive relationship instability and lack of trust between partners which is having a significant influence over the timing of births within these communities