Abstract |
This study, based on the 1996-97 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, attempts to find the effect of breastfeeding on fertility. The study reveals that breastfeeding status of the mothers placed a considerable role in the determination of fertility. The mean number of live births was lower in case of mothers who gave full breastfeeding compared to others. The relationship between the duration of breastfeeding and mean number of live births was direct and negative. A significant change in the breastfeeding pattern was observed by parity and age of mothers. The path analysis suggests that the longer the duration of breastfeeding, the lower will be the incidence of child mortality, and hence the lower will be the fertility. |