Fertility and family planning in Uttar Pradesh, India: major progress and persistent gaps

• Published in: Reproductive health 2019-08, Vol.16 (1), p.129-129, Article 129
• Main Authors: Halli, Shiva S, Ashwini, Damaraju, Dehury, Bidyadhar, Isac, Shajy, Joseph, Antony, Anand, Preeti, Gothalwal, Vikas, Prakash, Ravi, Ramesh, B M, Blanchard, James, Boerma, Ties
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Birth control; Birth Rate; Child mortality; Condoms; Contraception; Contraception - statistics & numerical data; Contraceptives; Demographic aspects; Demography; Developing Countries; Economic aspects; Economic development; Family planning; Family planning services; Family Planning Services - statistics & numerical data; Female; Fertility; Geographical variation; Health; Health aspects; Health care disparities; Health Services Needs and Demand; Health surveys; Human fertility; Humans; India; Married women; Methods; NFHS; Oral contraceptives; Public domain; Reproductive health; Reproductive sterilization; Sex Education; Total fertility rate; Trends; Uttar Pradesh; Womens health
• ISSN: 1742-4755; 1742-4755
• DOI: 10.1186/s12978-019-0790-x

Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the most populous state in India with historically high levels of fertility rates than the national average. Though fertility levels in UP declined considerably in recent decades, the current level is well above the government's target of 2.1. Fertility and family planning data obtained from the different rounds of Sample Registration System (SRS) and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). We analyzed fertility and family planning trends in India and UP, including differences in methods mix, using SRS (1971-2016) and NFHS (1992-2016). Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used. From 2000, while the total fertility rate (TFR) declined in UP, it is still well above the national level in 2015-16 (2.7 vs 2.18, respectively). The demand for family planning satisfied increased from 52 to 72% during 1998-99 to 2015-16 in UP, compared to an increase from 75 to 81% in India. Traditional methods play a much greater role in UP than in India (22 and 9% of the demand satisfied respectively), while use of sterilization was relatively low in UP when compared to the national averages (18.0 and 36.3% of current married women 15-49 years in UP and India, respectively in 2015-16). Within UP, district fertility ranged from 1.6 to 4.4, with higher fertility concentrated in districts with low female schooling, predominantly located in north-central UP. Fertility declines were largest in districts with high fertility in the late nineties (B = 7.33, p