Social Components of Indian Fertility

Indian Fertility David G Mandelbaum Traditional and Modern Resources for the Next Stage SOCIAL context has such great bearing on fertility control that future plans would do well to direct family planning efforts to particular regions within a state, to allow for social differences among groups within the region, and to aim for strategic categories (say women in their thirties) within a group. Changing motivations should be recognised. A woman in her late thirties and her married daughter in her early twenties may each want to avert pregnancy but for quite different reasons. The new family plan- ning programmes can include facilities and encouragement for each kind of motivation.