Multidimensional life table estimation of the total fertility rate and its components.

Using discrete-time survival models of parity progression and illustrative data from the Philippines, this article develops a multivariate multidimensional life table of nuptiality and fertility, the dimensions of which are age, parity, and duration in parity. The measures calculated from this life table include total fertility rate (TFR), [corrected] total marital fertility rate (TMFR), parity progression ratios (PPR), age-specific fertility rates, mean and median ages at first marriage, mean and median closed birth intervals, and mean and median ages at childbearing by child's birth order and for all birth orders combined. These measures are referred to collectively as "TFR and its components.

Effects of population policy and economic reform on the trend in fertility in Guangdong province, China, 1975-2005.

An analysis of data mainly from China's 1990 and 2000 censuses and 2005 mini-census shows how fertility decline between 1975 and 2005 in the province of Guangdong has been influenced by both fertility policy and economic and social development. Guangdong's development since 1975 has been very rapid and has attracted huge numbers of migrants from other provinces. The analysis of the province's fertility trend from 1975 shows clearly the influence of fertility policy on the trend.

Does biofuel smoke contribute to anaemia and stunting in early childhood?

Background: Reliance on biomass fuels for cooking and heating exposes many women and young children in developing countries to high levels of air pollution indoors. Exposure to biomass smoke has been linked to reduced birth weight, acute respiratory infections, and childhood mortality. This study examines the association between household use of biofuels (wood, dung, and crop residues) for cooking and heating and prevalence of anaemia and stunting in children.

Cooking smoke and tobacco smoke as risk factors for stillbirth.

Smoke from biomass combustion produces some of the same pollutants found in tobacco smoke and ambient air, yet only one study to date has linked cooking with biomass fuels to increased risk of stillbirth. The mechanisms by which biomass smoke may cause stillbirth are through exposure to CO and particulates in biomass smoke. Using information on 19,189 ever-married women aged 40-49 included in India's 1998-99 National Family Health Survey, we examined the association between household use of biomass fuels (wood, dung, and crop residues), tobacco smoke (both active and passive), and risk of stillbirth.

Effect of iron supplementation during pregnancy on birthweight: evidence from Zimbabwe.

Background: Iron deficiency in pregnant women has been shown to reduce the oxygen supply to the fetus, cause intrauterine growth retardation, and increase the risk of premature delivery and reduced birthweight. Yet the effects of iron supplementation programs on pregnancy outcomes are not well documented for developing countries.

Objective: To examine the relation between iron supplementation of mothers during pregnancy and children's birthweight using data from a national population-based survey in Zimbabwe.

Effects of vitamin A supplementation on child mortality: evidence from Nepal's 2001 Demographic and Health Survey.

Objective: To assess the effect of Nepal's vitamin A supplementation programme on child mortality at age 12-59 months.

Materials And Methods: Logistic regression, applied to retrospective data from Nepal's 2001 Demographic and Health Survey.

Results: After a number of potentially confounding variables are controlled, the effect of 100% community-level vitamin A coverage since the child's birth, relative to no coverage, is to reduce the odds of dying at age 12-59 months by slightly more than half (OR = 0.

Recent trends and components of change in fertility in Nepal.

The objectives of this article are, first, to provide improved estimates of recent fertility levels and trends in Nepal and, second, to analyse the components of fertility change. The analysis is based on data from Nepal's 1996 and 2001 Demographic and Health Surveys. Total fertility rates (TFR) are derived by the own-children method.