Couple's Reproductive Goals in India and Its Policy Relevance

Faujdar Ram, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Abhishek Singh, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

To what extent couples agree with each other on fertility intentions, sex of the next child, and the intention to use family planning in future has major role not only in determining the family size but also in the process of transition. The present paper investigates this question in Uttar Pradesh, India. Quantitative data from DLHS-2002 has been used in the present analysis. Wives differ significantly from their husbands regarding the sex of their next child. Results show that it is the husband who has the highest influence on the couple's reproductive goals. The analysis further reveals that male child is the preference of most of the couples, which in turn affects their intention to use contraceptives, when to use a contraceptive, and the time gap between the next child. It can be concluded that understanding husbands' views are very important from the policies and programmes point of view.