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  • Title: Childlessness in India.
    Author: Vemuri MD, Manohar D.
    Journal: Biol Soc; 1986 Dec; 3(4):163-6. PubMed ID: 12341024.
    Abstract:
    The 1981 Census data were analyzed to show the pattern of childlessness among ever-married women in India. 18.5% of the ever-married women in India are childless. In the younger age groups a large percentage of women are childless, but the percentage drops rapidly and stabilizes at a lower level above age 35. Rural and urban areas show similar age patterns, with rural areas having a slightly higher percentage at the beginning of the childbearing period. The higher percentage of childless women in younger ages is due primarily to shorter exposure to risk of pregnancy and most likely also in part to adolescent subfecundity. The age groups that are unlikely to be affected by these factors were examined further. In the data for 1981, median age at marriage ranges from 15-23 years for different subgroups of population, so women in the 30-49 age range were chosen. For comparison purposes, the percentage of childless women was standardized for age, but this made little difference. In India as a whole, there are 5.6% of women in the 30-49 age group who are childless, and the percentages in rural and urban areas are almost the same. There is little variation according to religious affiliation. The Hindu, who comprise nearly 84% of all married women, have the highest percentage of childless women, closely followed by the Muslim -- the 2nd largest religious group with approximately 11% of the population. The percentages of childless women are quite similar among those in the primary and middle educational categories, higher in women who are illiterate and in those who are more highly educated, and highest in those who had attended college. The distribution thus appears to be U-shaped, but this conclusion must be regarded as tentative because of the small number of married women who are in the secondary and college educational categories.
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