MEASURE DHS - Journal Details

Decision-making and Fertility Behaviour: A Comparative Analysis of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Women in Odisha
Authors:	Bhaswati Das, Deepshikha Tarai
Source:	Social Change, 41(2): 233 - 249
Topic(s):	Fertility Household decision-making
Country:	Asia India
Published:	JUN 2011
Abstract:	Abstract Women’s decision-making power in India is a much researched issue among the feminist social scientists. In the literature decision-making is frequently used synonymously as women’s status, women’s position in a society and in a household. Women’s decision-making play an important role in determining her reproductive health and fertility behaviour. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) incorporated some mobility and finance-related decision-making indicators to grossly quantify the level of decision-making. This article is an attempt to explore the relationship between women’s decision-making and fertility behaviour among married scheduled caste and scheduled tribe women of 15–49 years in Odisha based on NFHS-3. Results using different statistical techniques indicate that level of women’s decision-making is not influencing significantly the fertility behaviour in both the study communities. This calls for further debate and discussions on the questions put by NFHS in their nationwide survey.