Contributions of Proximate Determinants to Fertility Transition in Bangladesh: An Analysis of Bongaarts’ Fertility Model

Introduction: Fertility transition is outright by prime four proximate determinants (marriage, contraception, postpartum infecundability, and abortion). The present study examines the contributions of proximate determinants on fertility decline and quantifies inhibiting the effect of major proximate determinants according to the socioeconomic characteristics in Bangladesh. Methods: The current study was based mainly on the three Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHSs) carried out in 1993- 1994, 2004, and 2014. Bongaarts’ fertility framework was applied to analyze the proximate determinants of fertility in the socioeconomic status of women in Bangladesh. Results: In 1993-1994, contraception was the greatest impediment to fertility followed by postpartum infecundability, marriage, and induced abortion, respectively. In 2014, contraception was the highest fertility obstructing effect followed by marriage, postpartum infecundability, and abortion, respectively, in both rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. Throughout the study period and even now, fertility is revered in the Sylhet and Chittagong divisions of Bangladesh. The fertility-inhibiting effect of marriage, contraception, and abortion has an affirmative relationship with the educational status of women. Postpartum infecundability, however, displays an inverse relationship with the educational status of women. Conclusion: The current study suggests that contraception plays a vital role in fertility reduction in Bangladesh. In particular, special attention should be placed on those regions (Chittagong and Sylhet divisions) that register low contraception prevalence rates. Special programs should focus on creating an awareness of the disadvantages of child marriage among women who reside in the division of Chittagong and Sylhet of Bangladesh.