FERTILITY

Concepts and
Measures

fertility concepts & measures

fertility

Refers to the actual birth

performance indicated by live births

fecundity

Physiological capacity of a woman,

man or couple to conceive or
reproduce

fertility concepts & measures

live births

The complete expulsion from its

mother the product of conception

Irrespective of the duration of

pregnancy

After expulsion shows evidence of life

such as breathing, pulsation, beating of
the heart, definite movement of
voluntary muscle

Whether or not the placenta has been

cut or not

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Nuptiality/union and sexual
fertility
intercourse

Union marks the exposure to

childbearing

The younger a woman enter into union,

the longer the exposure

More frequent sexual intercourse

increases chance of pregnancy
(especially when there is no
contraception)

Indicated by age at first marriage and

marital status

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
fertility
Age of menarche

Menarche marks the onset of womans

capacity to conceive or get pregnant
Early onset of menarche coupled with
early sexual intercourse heightens
the risk of early and unwanted
pregnancy

Early pregnancy among adolescents

poses high risk in pregnancy

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Contraception
fertility

Use of contraception helps manage

fertility or planning pregnancy

Prevents the fertilization of sperm

and egg cell thus preventing
pregnancy

Condom also can help reduce the risk

of sexually transmitted diseases

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Lactational infecundabililty/
fertility
postpartum amenorrhea

Following a pregnancy a woman

remains unable to conceive (i.e.
infecund) until the normal pattern of
ovulation and menstruation is restored

The infecundity is a function of lactation

or breastfeeding

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Induced abortion
fertility

This terminates conception

Includes any act of deliberately

interrupts the normal course of
gestation or pregnancy

It is illegal in the country but with high

recorded incidence (more than 470,000
cases in 2008 Guttmacher study)

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Duration of fertile period
fertility

The duration of fertile period is a

function of the duration of the viability
of the sperm or ovum

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Socio-economic factors
fertility

Education and income is negatively

associated with fertility

Women with less education and who

are poor have higher fertility

Education is associated with

knowledge on accurate information
about pregnancy and family planning

Level of income determines access to

necessary information and services

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Gender and cultural factors
fertility

Cultural barriers to sexual health

Sexuality is a taboo

Double standard on sexuality

Many sexuality and fertility attitude
decisions are made by men and
disadvantageous to women

Higher preference of men for number of

children

Preference for sons

Lack of sensitivity to womensexual

concerns

fertility concepts & measures

factors affecting
Gender and cultural factors
fertility

Women has no power or inferior

negotiating power to refuse sexual abuses
and advances

Lack of access to appropriate information and

services on sexual and reproductive health

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Crude birth rate (CBR)

General fertility rate (GFR)

Age specific fertility rate (ASFR)

Total fertility rate (TFR)

Gross reproduction rate (GRR)

Net reproduction rate (NRR)

Children ever born (CEB)

Child woman ratio (CWR)

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures
Crude birth rate (CBR)

The ratio of the number of births during a

period (one year) to the total number of
persons in the population as of the middle of
the same period
CBR = (B/P) x 1,000
B = number of births in a given year
P = total mid-year population
Expression: There were 32 live births per
1,000 population in the Philippines in
2012

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Crude birth rate (CBR)

Why crude?

Because its denominator includes

people who are not risk of giving birth
(e.g. women beyond reproductive age
and men)

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR)

It depicts variations of fertility by age groups

ASFR =

Number of births to
reproductive women in specific
age group
Number of women in the same
age group

x 1,000

The Philippines had 50 live births per

1,000 women aged 15-19 in 2010

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR)

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The number of children a woman would have

by the time she reaches age 50 (or during her
reproductive age), if she were to experience
the fertility schedule defined by ASFRs from
the start to the end of childbearing

The sum is multiplied by 5 because of the

width of the interval of the age group

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

TFR = 5 ASFRi
Where:
ASFR = age specific fertility
rate
5 = age group interval
Sample interpretation: In 2008, the total
fertility rate is 3.3 children per woman of
reproductive age, given the the age-specific
fertility rate of the same period

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR)

Similar to TFR except that it is the sum of agespecific rate that includes only female live
births or daughters in the numerator

The GRR measures the extent to which a

hypothetical cohort of women will
replace itself assuming no women die
during the childbearing years

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR)

GRR =

10
0
10

x TFR

6
TFR = Total fertility rate
100/106 = the proportion of female among
live births implies 100 female births per 106
male births) this is used when live births are
not disaggregated or classified by sex

fertility concepts & measures

fertility measures

Children ever born

Derived by asking the women the number of

children they ever had

Usually tabulated by womans age yielding

cumulative fertility of women up to specified
points in their childbearing years

Limitations:

Measures past fertility

Children you died young might not be

remembered

fertility concepts & measures

other fertility
Wanted fertility
measures
Contraceptive prevalence rate percentage

of married women aged 15-49 currently using

any family planning method
Intention to use contraceptives
Marital status
Age at first marriage
Age at first menstruation/ menarche
Age at first sexual intercourse
Recent sexual activity
Postpartum amenorrhea
Abstinence
Menopause

fertility concepts & measures

THANK YOU

fertility concepts & measures

Exercise: Compute for ASFR and TFR

Age

15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39

Number of
Women in
July 1
3,319,790

166,743

2,902,118

553,904

2,485,988

541,907

2,090,235

380,049

1,733,089

208,914

40-44

1,363,988

45-49

1,108,143

TOTAL

Births in
2010

15,003,351

TFR =

69,879
8,905

1,930,301

ASFR/individ
ual
(last 2
decimal
numbers)

ASFR/1,000
women
(whole
number)

fertility concepts & measures

ANSWERS:
Age

15-19
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
TFR

Number of
Women in
July 1

Births in
2010

ASFR per
individual

ASFR per
1,000
women

3,319,790

166,743

0.05

50 births

2,902,118

553,904

0.19

191

2,485,988

541,907

0.22

218

2,090,235

380,049

0.18

182

1,733,089

208,914

0.12

121

69,879
0.05 of
= 1,363,988
4.1 average
number
1,108,143
8,905
0.01
45-49
children
given
1,930,301
0.82
TOTAL 15,003,351
the ASFR
in 2010

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