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This is a 20+ year recollection...but while working on a Masters in Public Health, we learned that the only causal factor that could be linked to both number of
by theotherview 7y ago
This is a 20+ year recollection...but while working on a Masters in Public Health, we learned that the only causal factor that could be linked to both number of children birthed and age at which a woman gives birth to her first child is the education level of the mother. That is, as women in a society have greater access to education, they postpones when they have their first child and in the end have fewer children in their lifetime.
- maire 7y agoYes - Hans also said the same thing although indirectly. His life work was reducing child mortality (under the age of 5.) He discovered that the biggest factor in reducing child mortality was the education level of the mother. It turns out that most child deaths are preventable if the mother understands how to prevent the death. For instance, dehydration due to diarrhea and vomiting can be prevented by sanitation. Also access to vaccines is linked to the education of the mother. It goes without saying that access to birth control also plays a big factor. Melinda Gates tells a story about how she was talking to a group of African women about vaccines and what they really wanted was birth control so they could plan their family. They couldn't use condoms because culturally it implied they had AIDs. This also seems linked to education.