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Biomedical subjects

A R Pebley

Publications and source records attributed to A R Pebley.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Premarital sexuality in urban Nigeria.

This study examines changes and differentials in premarital sexual activity in Nigerian cities. The incidence of sexual activity before marriage provides an indication of the extent of erosion in traditional practices and in family control of young women's behavior in urban areas. Pregnancy and childbirth outside of marriage and traditional family support systems have also become a matter of increasing concern in many African cities, especially in the public health community. The results suggest that premarital sexual behavior has become more common over time, as Nigerian society has undergone marked social change, and that premarital sexual behavior appears to be more common among women who come from nontraditional backgrounds. Relatively few premaritally sexually active women attempted to avoid pregnancy by using a contraceptive method, although premarital contraceptive use is more common in younger cohorts, and among more educated women. Much of the contraceptive use that occurs, however, is use of efficient methods.

Adolescent↗

Evaluation of contraceptive history data in the Republic of Korea.

The consistency of retrospective and current status data on contraceptive use from a series of national fertility surveys carried out during the 1970s in Korea is investigated. Aggregate consistency is examined among random samples from the same cohort or cohorts of women interviewed in each survey. The results indicate that estimates of trends in contraceptive use from a retrospective history in one survey, or from cross-sectional estimates in a series of surveys, can each yield misleading findings. Data from the 1974 Korean National Fertility Survey (KNFS) appear to be more reliable than those from other surveys, possibly because an interval-by-interval contraceptive history was used, explicit definitions of contraceptive methods were given prior to taking the contraceptive history, and the KNFS involved longer interviewer training and, perhaps, less time pressure during interviews.

Adolescent↗

Contraceptive use during lactation in developing countries.

Contraceptive use by breastfeeding women in developing countries has led to concern about potentially harmful effects of steroid contraceptives on the health of breastfed children. In this paper, breastfeeding women's use of the pill and hormonal injections is investigated using survey data from 17 Latin American, Asian, and African countries. The results indicate that while the proportions of breastfeeding women who use these methods were small in most countries at the time of the surveys, the proportion using the pill was not inconsequential. In general, younger lactating women with higher education and more live births who live in urban areas are more likely to use the pill than other breastfeeding women.

Breast Feeding↗

The potential impact of changes in fertility on infant, child, and maternal mortality.

In this paper we explore the relation between changes in reproductive behavior, such as those that might result from an effective family planning program in developing countries, and changes in child and maternal mortality. Specifically, we use the results from recent multivariate studies to estimate the changes in mortality that might result from altering maternal age, birth order, and birth spacing distributions of live births. Our results indicate that if childbearing were confined to the "prime" reproductive ages of 20-34, then infant and child mortality rates would fall by about 5 percent. Limiting childbearing to ages 20-39 may also reduce the maternal mortality ratio by 11 percent. The elimination of fourth and higher order births would reduce the maternal mortality ratio by about 4 percent. Universal adoption of an "ideal" spacing pattern in which all births subsequent to the first are spaced at least two years apart may reduce infant mortality by about 10 percent and child mortality by about 21 percent.

Birth Intervals↗