The purpose of this study is to examine the marriage to first birth interval and also to
identify the socio-economic, demographic and cultural factors influencing the first
birth interval among married women in Bangladesh. The study utilizes the data
extracted from the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). In
this analysis, the average marriage to first birth interval of the respondents’ is
observed to be 28.86 months. Cox Proportional Hazard model is used for
identification of significant factors contributing towards marriage to first birth
interval in Bangladesh. The findings from the Cox proportional hazard model
indicate that age at first marriage, division, religion, respondents’ education,
partners’ education, respondents’ currently working, Partners’ occupation, ever use
of any method, socio-economic status, respondents’ age at first birth are the most
important significant covariates of ‘Marriage to first birth interval’ in Bangladesh.