News | Larger Families Are Not Simply a Result of Limited Contraception: Study Reveals the Choices of Rural African Households
Despite improving access to contraception and higher levels of women's education, a preference for larger families persists in some rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that family-size preferences in rural Tanzania stem not from a lack of contraceptive resources, but largely from rational choices shaped by economic structures, family institutions and gender relations.
The study was led by Catalina Herrera Almanza, assistant professor in the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, in collaboration with Aine Seitz McCarthy, associate professor of economics at Lewis & Clark College. Focusing on rural households in Meatu, Tanzania, the study systematically assessed men's and women's true preferences for their ideal number of children and how family-planning interventions affected those preferences.
During a 15-month family-planning program, the team followed 515 households across 12 villages. Conducted with Tanzania's Ministry of Health and Meatu District Hospital, the project trained local women to educate communities about birth spacing, contraceptive safety and free contraception at public health facilities.
At the beginning and end of the project, researchers privately asked each spouse how many more children they wanted. Participants averaged 37 years of age for men and 30 for women, and had an average of 5 children at the start. Among the women, 89% had never used contraception.
Men wanted an average of 4 more children, while women wanted 2.4. After joint couples counseling, however, both partners' fertility preferences rose: husbands wanted an additional 0.77 children, while women who received joint counseling increased their desired number by an average of 1.6. In contrast, women who received individual counseling expressed lower fertility preferences.
Researchers said the change was closely linked to communication itself. Herrera Almanza noted that about two-thirds of couples had never discussed how many children they wanted before the program. Joint counseling brought them face to face with each other's expectations for the first time. Afterward, however, women generally overestimated how strongly their husbands wanted more children, a pattern not seen in the individual counseling group.
Further analysis showed that the effect was driven mainly by polygamous households, which made up about one-third of the sample. In this family structure, childbearing can be a strategic choice. Herrera Almanza explained that because old-age security is limited and land inheritance usually follows the male line, wives with more children may gain an advantage in the allocation of household resources.
Older women were also more likely to increase their fertility preferences, perhaps reflecting a strategy to have as many children as possible within a limited reproductive window. The team tested whether women were accommodating their husbands because of power imbalances or domestic violence, but found no evidence of this. Instead, women with greater decision-making power in the household were more likely to express higher fertility preferences after joint counseling.
Participants responded positively overall to contraceptive education and services, but their main goal was to increase birth spacing rather than reduce family size. This closely aligns with Tanzania's Ministry of Health policy, which recommends spacing births at least two years apart to improve maternal and child health.
Researchers noted that the very young population structure of many African countries has made the “demographic dividend” a central policy topic. High adolescent pregnancy rates, however, often reduce young women's opportunities to finish school and enter the workforce. The study shows that increasing contraceptive coverage alone does not necessarily change families' long-term plans for large families.
McCarthy emphasized that joint family-planning counseling remains valuable when the policy goal is to improve women's reproductive health and support appropriate birth spacing. However, counselors should avoid directly centering discussions on the number of children desired and allow these issues to develop through more natural family communication.
The team is now conducting follow-up interviews with participating households. Preliminary findings suggest that the fertility preferences women reported in the study are translating into actual reproductive behavior.
News | Larger Families Are Not Simply a Result of Limited Contraception: Study Reveals the Choices of Rural African Households
News | Larger Families Are Not Simply a Result of Limited Contraception: Study Reveals the Choices of Rural African Households
Despite improving access to contraception and higher levels of women's education, a preference for larger families persists in some rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that family-size preferences in rural Tanzania stem not from a lack of contraceptive resources, but largely from rational choices shaped by economic structures, family institutions and gender relations.
The study was led by Catalina Herrera Almanza, assistant professor in the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, in collaboration with Aine Seitz McCarthy, associate professor of economics at Lewis & Clark College. Focusing on rural households in Meatu, Tanzania, the study systematically assessed men's and women's true preferences for their ideal number of children and how family-planning interventions affected those preferences.
During a 15-month family-planning program, the team followed 515 households across 12 villages. Conducted with Tanzania's Ministry of Health and Meatu District Hospital, the project trained local women to educate communities about birth spacing, contraceptive safety and free contraception at public health facilities.
At the beginning and end of the project, researchers privately asked each spouse how many more children they wanted. Participants averaged 37 years of age for men and 30 for women, and had an average of 5 children at the start. Among the women, 89% had never used contraception.
Men wanted an average of 4 more children, while women wanted 2.4. After joint couples counseling, however, both partners' fertility preferences rose: husbands wanted an additional 0.77 children, while women who received joint counseling increased their desired number by an average of 1.6. In contrast, women who received individual counseling expressed lower fertility preferences.
Researchers said the change was closely linked to communication itself. Herrera Almanza noted that about two-thirds of couples had never discussed how many children they wanted before the program. Joint counseling brought them face to face with each other's expectations for the first time. Afterward, however, women generally overestimated how strongly their husbands wanted more children, a pattern not seen in the individual counseling group.
Further analysis showed that the effect was driven mainly by polygamous households, which made up about one-third of the sample. In this family structure, childbearing can be a strategic choice. Herrera Almanza explained that because old-age security is limited and land inheritance usually follows the male line, wives with more children may gain an advantage in the allocation of household resources.
Older women were also more likely to increase their fertility preferences, perhaps reflecting a strategy to have as many children as possible within a limited reproductive window. The team tested whether women were accommodating their husbands because of power imbalances or domestic violence, but found no evidence of this. Instead, women with greater decision-making power in the household were more likely to express higher fertility preferences after joint counseling.
Participants responded positively overall to contraceptive education and services, but their main goal was to increase birth spacing rather than reduce family size. This closely aligns with Tanzania's Ministry of Health policy, which recommends spacing births at least two years apart to improve maternal and child health.
Researchers noted that the very young population structure of many African countries has made the “demographic dividend” a central policy topic. High adolescent pregnancy rates, however, often reduce young women's opportunities to finish school and enter the workforce. The study shows that increasing contraceptive coverage alone does not necessarily change families' long-term plans for large families.
McCarthy emphasized that joint family-planning counseling remains valuable when the policy goal is to improve women's reproductive health and support appropriate birth spacing. However, counselors should avoid directly centering discussions on the number of children desired and allow these issues to develop through more natural family communication.
The team is now conducting follow-up interviews with participating households. Preliminary findings suggest that the fertility preferences women reported in the study are translating into actual reproductive behavior.
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