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C H A P T E R 6F E R T I L I T Y P R E F E R E N C E S

T h e V N D H S - I I i n c l u d e d a n u m b e r o f q u e s t i o n s t o a s c e r t a in f e r t il i ty p r e f e r e n c e s , a u s e f tdi n d i c a t o r o f g e n e r a l a t t it u d e s t o w a r d c h i l d b e a r i n g a n d o f t h e p o s s i b l e f u t u re c o u r s e o f f e r ti l it y . D a t a o nf e r t il i ty p r e f e r e n c e s a r e a l s o u s e fn l f o r a s s e s s i n g th e u n m e t n e e d f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g a n d t h e n u m b e r o ft m w a n t e d o r m i s t i m e d b i r th s i n t h e p o p u l a ti o n . T h e f o c u s o f t h i s c h a p t e r i s r e s p o n d e n t s " c h i l d b e a r i n ga t t it u d e s s u c h a s d e s i r e f o r m o r e c h i l d r e n i n th e f u tu r e , i d e al n u m b e r o f c t d ld r e n t h e y w o u l d l i k e t o h a v e ,a n d p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e i d ea l n u m b e r o f c h i l d r e n th e i r h u s b a n d s w o u l d l ik e t o h a v e . T o t a l w a n t e d f e r ti l it yr a t e s a r e c a l c u l a t e d b a s e d o n d e s i r e d i d e a l f a m i l y s i z e a n d b i r t h h i s t o r y i n f o n ' n a t io n .6 .1 D e s i r e f o r M o r e C h i l d r e n

I n o r d e r t o o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n o n f u t u r e c h il d b e a r i ll g i n t e n t io n s , c u r r e n t l y m a r r i e d r e s p o n d e n t sw e r e a s k e d : " W o u l d y o u l ik e t o h a v e a n o t h e r ch i ld o r w o u l d y o u p r e f e r n o t t o h a v e a n y m o r e c h i l d r e n ? " I ft h e y d i d i n d e e d w a n t a n o t h e r c h i l d , t h e y w e r e a s k e d : " H o w l o n g w o u l d y o u l ik e t o w a i t f r o m n o w b e f o r et h e b i r t h o f a n o t h e r c h i l d ? " I f t h e W O l na n h ad n o t y e t h ad a n y c h i l d r e n , t h e s e q u e s t i o n s w e r e a p p r o p r i a t e l yp h r a s e d , a n d i f t h e w o m a n w a s p r e g n a n t , s h e w a s a s k e d a b o u t h e r d e s i r e f o r m o r e c h i l d r e n a f t e r t h e b a b ys h e w a s e x p e c t i n g .

T a b l e 6 .1 p r e s e n t s t h e p e r c e n t d i s tr i b u ti o n o f c u r r e n tl y m a r r i e d w o m e n b y d e s i r e f o r m o r ec h i ld r e n , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e n u m b e r o f l iv i n g c h il d re n . T w o - t h ir d s o f c u r re n t ly m a r r i e d w o m e n ( 6 6 p e r c e n t)d o n o t w a n t a n y m o r e c h i l d r e n , I p e r c e n t m o r e th a n i n 1 9 9 4. A n o t h e r 9 p e r c e n t e i t h e r h a v e b e e n s t e r il i z e do r s a y th e y c a n n o t h a v e a n y m o r e c h i ld r e n. A m o n g w o m e n w h o e x p r e s s a d e s i re f o r a n o t h e r c h i l d , t h em a j o r i t y w a n t t o d e l a y t h e n e x t b i rt h b y t w o o r m o r e y e a r s (1 6 p e r c e n t ) : o n l y 5 p e r c e n t o f c u r r e n t lym a r r i e d w o m e n w a n t a n o t h e r c h i ld s o o n ( w i t h in t w o y e a r s ) ( s e e F i g u r e 6 . 1) .

Table 6, I F c r l i l i t v preferences by nu mber of l iving childrenPercent dislribulion of currently married women by desire Ibr more children, according to number of l iving children.Vietnam 1997Desire Ik~rmore ch ildren Nurnber o f l iving children'0 +1 2 3 4 5 6 + l'otatWant another soon 2 72.2 8.7 1.0 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.8 4.8W ant anothe r later 3 16.8 64.5 6.3 2.5 t).5 0.9 0.6 16.0Want another, undecided when 2.0 2.6 0.8 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.0Und ecided 1.7 8.3 4.5 1.5 1.3 0.4 0.6 3.6Want no more 0.4 13.8 83.6 85.3 80.3 78.6 77.2 65.9Sterilized 0.4 0.9 3.0 8 4 15.2 15.7 15.7 6.9I)cclarcd inlbcurLd 6.4 1.4 0.7 1.0 2.3 4.0 4.7 1.8Total 100,0 100,0 1 0 0 .0 I00.0 I00.0 100.0 I00,0 I00.0Number of women 186 106 8 158 2 1108 677 392 326 5340

htcludes current pregnancy" Want next biflh within two yearsWant to delay next birth for two or m ore years.

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Figure 6 .1Fert il ity Preferenc eC u r r en t ly M a r r ie d W o m e n 1 5 - 4 9

Want no mo~SS ~

St~' i l ized/Infecund

W an t tmo th~undecidedUndecided V~ nt another child later (2+ yr)5 % 1 6 %

i tnott~w chik: l ~ (

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fraction of those age 30 and over do. The desire to space births is concentrated amo ng youn g wom en(under age 25). Interest in lim iti ng childbe aring increases rapid ly with age, from 13 percent amo ngwomen age 15-I9 to 82 percent among women age 40-44.

The proportion of women who want no more children is an important measure of fertilitypreference. Table 6.3 presents the percentage of currently married wome n who wan t no more children bynumber of livi ng children. The results indicate that urban women want to limit family size at lowerparities than rural women but the difference is not marked. For example, 90 percent of urban women withtwo childre n say they do not want another child, compared with 85 percent of rural women .

The proportion of married women who want no more children in Norther n Vietn am - theNorthern Uplands, Red River Delta, and North Central regions - ranges from 76 to 79 percent comparedwith less than 70 percent amo ng wome n livi ng in the rem ain ing four regions.

The data in Table 6.3 also suggest that women in the Southeast and M ekong Rive r Delta regionsstart wanting to limit family size at lower parities than wom en in the Central Coast and Central Highlandsregions. For example, about 20 percent of women with one livi ng child in the former regi ons say that theydo not want another child compared with about 10 percent of women in the latter regions.

Table 6.3 Want no more children bv background characteristicsPercentage of currently married women who want no more children by number of livingselected background characteristics. Vietnam 1997 children and

Living childrenBackground characteristic 0 I 2 3 4 5 6+ TotalResidenceUrban 0 . 0 19.8 90.4 95.2 93.6 98.4 98.0 67.4Rural I.I 12.8 85.3 93.5 95.7 94.0 92.5 74.0Project provinceNo I.I 15.6 86.6 93.3 94.8 95.8 93.0 72.5Yes 0.0 12.3 86.6 94.7 97.0 90.8 92.5 73.4RegionNorthern Uplands 0.0 11.9 93.9 95.7 95.8 96.7 95.0 79.4Red River Delta 0.0 12.5 94.6 98.5 98.0 92.5 88.0 76.2North Central 0.0 5.4 78.8 92.9 96.8 98.4 92.6 76. ICenlral Coast 0.0 9.4 72.5 87.8 92.2 90.3 87.2 66.2Central IIishlands 0.0 11.5 62.3 81.4 96.8 67.8 71.0 60.8Southeast 2.3 21.8 86.4 96.1 97. 0 100.0 97.3 69.3Mekong River Delta 1.6 20.0 80.8 87.9 91.7 95.3 96.5 67.3EducationNo education 6.9 18.6 74.6 77.6 82.7 80.9 86.0 67.5Some primary 0.0 19.5 77.7 86.5 95.4 94.7 94.1 75.8Completed prirnary 0.0 13.4 78.0 94.3 95.9 95.5 93.4 68.6Complete lower secondary. 1.6 13.1 91.1 97.1 96.1 96.4 97.4 76.3Completed higher secondary. + 0.0 15.2 94.2 99.2 98.7 93 .3 100.0 70.9

Total 0.9 14.7 86.6 93.7 95.5 94.4 92.9 72.8

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Th e absence o f a de f in i te assoc ia tion be tween leve l o f educa t ion and the propor tion wa nt ing nomore ch i ld ren among a l l w om en is a t least par t ia l ly a resu lt o f the concen tra tion o f m ore educa ted wom enat low er pari ties , w here wo m en are more l ike ly to express a des i re fo r more ch ild ren . However , amongcurren t ly m arr ied w omen w i th tw o o r more ch i ld ren , there is a s trong pos it ive re la t ionsh ip be tween leve lo f educa t ion and the percen tage want ing n o more ch i ld ren . For example , among wom en w i th twoch i ld ren , 94 percen t o f those who ha ve comple ted h igher secondary schoo l want no more ch i ld ren ,compared w i th 75 percen t o f women w i th no educa t ion.T h e r e h a s b e e n a n i n c r e a s e a t a l l e d u c a t i o n l e ve l s in t he n u m b e r o f w o m e n w h o w a n t n o m o r ec h i l d re n . A s F i g u r e 6 .2 s h o w s , t h e p r o p o r ti o n o f c u r r e n tl y m a r r i e d w o m e n w i t h t w o c h i l d r e n w h o w a n t

n o m o r e c h i l d r e n i n c r e a s e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y b e t w e e n 1 9 9 4 a n d 1 9 9 7 f o r a l l l e v e l s o f e d u c a t i o n .

9C

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F i g u r e 6 . 2P r o p o r t io n o f C u r r e n t ly M a r r i e d W o m e n

w i th T w o C h i ld r e n W h o W a n t N o M o r e C h i l d r e nb y L e v e l o f E d u c a t i o n , V i e t n a m 1 9 9 4 a n d 1 9 9 7

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I~ lU ~UUC.~d LKJ~ o o r D t l I ~ O I T Ip l e ( ~ l O L , o r n p l e l O opr imary p r imary lowersecondary

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L,omgqeleoh ig he rsecondary+

6.2 Need for Family Plann ing ServicesIn fo rm at ion on fe r t i l i t y pre fe rences a lone is no t su f fic ien t to assess the need fo r fam i ly p lann ingserv ices. Man y w omen w i lo d o no t want to have ano ther ch i ld o r who w ant to space the next b i r t l l a realready using contracept ion or are not exposed to the r isk o f pregnancy because they are meno pausal orin fecund. I t is possib le to est ima te the extent to w hich couples' need For fam ily planning is being m et by

e x a m i n i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t c o n t r a c e p t i v e p r a c ti c e , e s i r e f o r a d d i t i o n a l c h i l d r e n, d e s i r e d t i m i n g o f t h en e xt c h i l d f o r w o m e n w h o w a n t m o r e c h i l d r e n , n d i n d i ca t o r s f w o m e n ' s f e c u n d s ta tu s .

C urren t ly m arried wom en wh o a re fecund and wh o say tha t they do no t want any more ch i ld renor tha t they w an t to w a i t tw o o r m ore years be fo re hav ing ano ther ch i ld , bu t a re no t us ing con traception ,a re cons idered to have an u m n e / n e e d ~ fo r fa m i ly p lann ing. Cur ren t users o f ' fa m i ly p lann ing methods a re

~ A m ore com plete description o f the procedure or calculating unm et need s given in Table 6.4, footnote .74

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s a i d to h a v e a met need f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g . T h e t o t a l d e m a n d f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g i s t h e s u m o f t h e m e ta n d t m m e t n e e d f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g .

T a b l e 6 . 4 s h o w s t h e p e r c e n t a g e o f c u r r e n t l y m a r r i e d w o m e n w i t h u n n l e t n e e d a n d m e t n e e d f o rf a m i l y p l a n n i n g a n d t h e t o ta l d e m a n d f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g s e r v ic e s b y b a c k g r o u n d c h a r a c t e ri st ic s . O n l y 7p e r c en t o f c u r r e n t l y m a r r ie d w o m e n i n V i e t n a m h a v e a n u n m e t n ee d f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g s e r v i c e s .C o m b i n e d w i t h t h e 75 p e rc e n t o f c u rr e n t ly m a r r ie d w o m e n w h o a r e c u r r e n t l y u s i n g a c o n t r a c e p t i v em e t h o d , th e t o t a l d e m a n d f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g i s 8 3 p er ce n t. I t is e s t i m a t e d t h a t 9 2 p e r c e n t o f t h e to t a ld e m a n d f o r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g i s b e i n g m e t.

"Fable 6.4 N e e d I b r f a m i ly p l a n n i n e s e r v i ce sF 'e r cen t o f cu r r c r a lv m a r r i ed v~on' tcn wi th t unlnl le t need and m e t n eed f o r f a in t l y p lau 't rf ing , and t i l e I o ta l de m a nd I b r f m n i ly p l an n in g , bys e l e c t e d b a c k ~ r o t n i d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . V i e t n a m 1 9 9 7

~ackground cl '~araclar ist ic

M e t n e e d I b rU n m c t n e e d R ~ r f am i l. ,, p l a n n i n g T o t a l d e m a n d I b rl am il_ v p l an n ing ~ ( cu r r en t l y u s ing )- " l i lm i ly ph m n ing P e r ce n t age

F o r F o r F o r F o r F o r F o r o f N u f n b c rs p a - l i m i t - s p a - l i m i t - s p a - l i m i t - d e m a n d o fc i n g i n g [ o t n l t i t l e i n g T o l a I c i n g i n g [ ' o t a l s l it i s l e d w o m e n

Age15-19 9 .(1 1 .7 9 .7 17.4 0 .8 18.1 26.3 1 .5 27 .8 65.1 12920- 24 11 .2 2 .1 13 .3 38 .3 16 .8 55 .1 50 . 6 18 .8 6 ' ) .5 80 .9 71 62 5 - 2 9 5 . 5 4 . 0 9 . 5 2 7 . 8 4 5 . 6 7 3 . 4 3 4 . 0 5 1 1 . 0 8 4 . 0 8 8 . 7 9 8 830- 34 2 .4 3 .8 6 .2 13 :5 71 .1 84 .5 16 .0 75 .1 91 .1 93 .2 1 .1533 5 - 3 9 0 .e , 3 . 7 4 . 3 5 . 5 8 2 . 5 8 8 . 0 6 . 3 8 7 . 3 9 3 . 6 9 5 . 4 1 . 0 6 84O44 ( I .5 4 .1 4 .6 ( I .7 81. 5 82.2 1 .2 86.1 87 .3 94. 8 78 54 5 - 4 9 0 . 0 3 . I 3 . I 0 . 0 6 3 . 5 6 3 . 5 0 . 0 6 6 . 6 6 6 . 6 9 5 . 3 5 0 2

R e s i d e n c eU r b a n 2 . 7 3 . 0 5 . 7 2 2 .1 5 7 . 3 7 9 . 3 2 5 . 3 6 0 . 3 8 5 . 6 9 3 . 4 9 9 7P , u r a l 3 6 3 . 6 7 .2 1 3 . 1 6 1 . 3 7 4 . 4 1 7 .1 6 5 . 3 8 2 4 9 1 . 2 4 . 3 4 3Project provinceN o 3 . 5 3 . 6 7 .1 1 5 . 0 5 9 . 5 7 4 . 6 1 8 . 9 6 3 . 5 8 2 . 5 9 1 . 4 3 . 7 3 8Y es 3 .3 3 .3 6 .6 14 .3 62 .8 77 .0 17 .9 66 .4 84 .3 92 .2 1 .601RegionN o r t h e r n U p l a n d s 4 . 7 5 . 3 1 0. 1 7 . 4 6 3 . 6 7 1 . 0 1 2 . 8 6 9 . 0 8 1 . 7 8 7 . 7 I . I I(1

R e d R i v e r D e l t a 1 .4 2 . 3 3 . 7 1 5 .5 6 7 . 8 8 3 . 3 1 7 . 2 7 0 . 3 8 7 . 5 9 5 . 8 1 . 1 9 7N o r t h C e n t r a l 3 .1 2 . 4 5 . 5 1 2 .0 6 8 . 2 8 0 . I 1 5 . 4 7 1 . 9 8 7 4 9 3 . 7 6 4 6C e n t r a l C o a s t 7 . 0 2 . 5 9 . 5 1 6 .5 5 3 6 7 0 .1 2 3 . 4 5 7 . 0 8 (I .4 8 8 . 2 5 5 7C e n t r a l I l i g h l a n d s 4 . 6 5 . 5 1 0. 1 1 7 .4 4 6 . 2 6 3 . 6 2 2 . 6 5 2 . 3 7 5 . 0 8 6 . 5 1 7 0S o u t h e a s t 3 . 7 3 . 9 7 . 6 1 9 .8 5 4 . 9 7 4 6 2 4 . 0 5 8 . 7 8 2 . 7 9 0 . 9 6 4 2M e k o n g R . D e l t a 2 . 5 3 . 5 6 . 0 1 9 .3 5 3 . 6 7 2 . 8 2 1 . 9 5 7 . 4 7 9 . 3 9 2 . 5 1 . 0 1 7EducationN o e d u c a t i o n 6 . 0 6 . 3 1 2 .3 7 . 2 4 5 . 7 5 2 . 9 1 3 . 2 5 3 . 0 6 6 2 8 1 . 4 2 5 2S o m e p r i m a r y 4 . 4 5 . 2 9 . 6 1 0 .7 5 8 . 0 6 8 . 7 1 5 .1 6 3 . 6 7 8 . 7 8 7 . 8 9 9 0Co m p le t ed p i 'im ar3 ' 4 .5 3 .4 7 .9 15 .8 56 .3 72 .2 20 . 6 60 . I 80 .7 90 .2 1 .576C o m p l e t e d k ) ~ e r s e c o n d a r v 2 . 2 2 . 4 4 . 5 1 4 .4 6 7 . 7 8 2 .1 1 7 .1 7 0 . 5 8 7 6 9 4 . 8 1 . 7 6 4( ' om ple t cd h ighe r; seconda~- y + 2 .2 3 .0 5 .2 21 .3 60 .9 82 .2 24 .3 63 . 9 88 .3 94 . I 757' [ 'o lal ~.. .~.3 6 .9 14 .8 60 .5 73 ~ 18 .6 64 .4 8 .~ .0 91 . 6 3 .~41

t l l l n l C t n ~ e d I () r s p ~ l C l l l ~ i n c l t l d e s p r e g n a n t ~ o n l c n ~ 1 1o s preananc ~ ~ a s I l li S l i1 | l e d . a l l l c n o r r h c i c % % o nio n ~ 1 1 o s l as l b i r l h w a s1 1 J S t i l ll e d . n d " ~ % O l l l C n d . b o a r c n e J l h g r p r e g n a n t n o r a m c n o r r h e i c ~ m d x ( h o i l r c n o t t l S l l l ~ n \ n l g t h o [ . l f f ~ l l l l d % I I ~l l ll l il l ~ i l l S I I '~ d l g \~ a n t t o w a h t w o o r m o r e ~ e a r s I br t h e i r c x l b i m b . A l s o i n c l ud e d i n u n n l ct n e e d f i ~r p ~ c i n ~ a r c ~ o m e n ~ h o ~ ir n s tl r C ~ ql cf ll c' r h e .~ , a n t a n o d l c r c h i l d o r M { o ~ a n t a n o l h c r c h i l d b u t a r c u n s u r e ~ a h e n I (i ] la ' ,e h e b i r l h . U n m c t n e e d f i n l i m i t i n g r e 1 ~ r s I o p r C ~ l l a l l t' ~i Ol ll Cl l h o s e p r e ~ n al l C ' r w i l s u n w a n t e d , a l l l c no r r h c ic ' ~ o n l el l ~ ] l o s g I l l s[ h i l d ~ a s [ l l l % a n l e d . ~ l l l d ~ % Ol l l C n x q l o a r c l l C J t ] l e r l g ~ l l a l l ln o r a n l e l lo r r 1 1 i c i l n d M ~ o a r c I i O [ k l S i l l~ i l ~ n l e l I l o d o f 1 ~ i n l i [} I a n l l i l l g b t l [ % ~ a i l [ n o l l l O r e c h i l d re n . E x c l u d e d i ' r O Il l h e L i n n l c t l l e q dc a t e g o r } a r c i ll C n o p a L i s a ] o r i l l l ~ C u n d v , o n l e l l .- ~ . J s l lc , o r s ] ~ a c l n o l s d c l l n e d a s ' ~ ( l ~ l e T l % ~ , h l a r c t l S l l ~ S ( l l l e l et1~,~, t ~ I \ p 1 I I ~ l d s l x h c x x ~ a n t t o h d y c d n o t h u r c b l l d o ra r c u n d e c i d e d w h e t h e r t o h a v e a n o t h e r . U s i i l ~ 1 o r I l l l ll I I I l ~ I S d c l l n e d a s ~ O l l l C ] l ~ l l O i | r c [ i S l ll ~ a n d ~ [ l( ) ~ i l n t n o i l lO r c c h i l d r e n . N o t et ha t t he spec i f i c m e thods u sed a r c no t t aken i ' i ~ loaccount~hcrc.

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U n m e t n e e d i s s l i g h t l y h i g h e r a m o n g r u ra l t h a n u r b a n w o m e n ( 7 a n d 6 p e r ce n t, r e s p e c t i v e ly ) . I ti s a l so r e l a t i v e l y h i g h i n t h e m o u n t a i n r e g i o n s (1 0 p e r c e n t e a c h i n t h e N o r th e r n U p l a n d s a n d C e n t r a lH i g h l a n d s ) c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e p l a i n s r e g i o n s ( 4 p e r c e n t i n t h e R e d R i v e r D e l ta a n d 6 p e r c e n t i n t h eM e k o n g R i v e r D e l ta ) . U n m e t n e e d i n t h e N o r t h C e n t r a l r e g i o n i s a l so v e r y l o w ( 6 pe r c e nt ) . T h e t h r eel a tt e r r e g i o n s h a v e t h e h i g h e s t p e r c e n t a g e o f d e m a n d s a t i s f ie d ( 9 6 , 9 3 , a n d 9 4 p e rc e n t , r e s p e c t i v e l y ) .

T h e r e i s at] i n v e r s e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n l e v e l o f e d u c a t i o n a n d p e r c e n t a g e h a v i n g a n t m m e t n e e df o r f a m i l y p l a n n in g . U n m e t n e e d v a r i e s f r o m a h i g h o f 1 2 p e r c en t a m o n g w o m e n w i th n o e d u c a ti o n t o al ow o f 5 pe r c en t a m o n g w o m e n w h o h a v e c o m p l e te d l o w e r s ec o n d a r y s ch o o l.6 .3 I dea l F am i l y S i z e

A n o t h e r a t t i tu d i n a l d i m e n s i o n o f c h i l d b e a r i n g c o n s i d e r e d i n t h e s u r v e y i s t h e t o ta l n u m b e r o fc h i l d r e n a w o m a n w o u l d i d e a l l y l i k e t o h a v e , i f i t w e r e e n t i r e ly u p t o h e r. I n t h e V N D H S - I I , t h e i d e a lf a m i l y s iz e ( p r e f e rr e d n u m b e r o f c h il d r e n ) f o r w o m e n i s e s t i m a t e d f r o m r e s p o n s e s t o t w o q u e s t i o n s .W o m e n w h o h a d n o l i v i n g c h i ld r e n w e r e a s k e d , " I f y o u c o u ld c h o o s e e x a c t l y th e n u m b e r o f ch i ld r e n t oh a v e i n y o u r w h o l e l if e , h o w m a n y w o u l d t h at b e ? " F o r w o m e n w h o h a d c h i ld r en , t h e q u e s ti o n w a sr e p h r a s e d a s f o l lo w s : " I f y o u c o u l d g o b a c k t o t h e t i m e y o u d i d n o t h a v e a n y c h i ld r e n a n d c o u l d c h o o s ee x a c t ly t h e n u m b e r o f c h il d r e n t o h a v e in y o u r w h o l e l if e, h o w m a n y w o u l d t h a t b e ? "

T a b l e 6 .5 s h o w s t h e d i s t r ib u t i o n o f e v e r - m a r r i e d w o m e n b y i d ea l f a m i l y si z e, a c c o r d i n g t o t h en u m b e r o f l i v in g c h il d r e n . I n s p it e o f t h e h y p o t h e ti c a l n a t u re o f th e s e t w o q u e s t i o n s m o s t w o l n e n w e r ea b l e to g i v e a n u m e r i c r e s p o n s e .

Table 6.5 Ideal and actual numb er o f childrenPercent distribution of ever-married wom en by ideal numb er or children and m ean ide al number o1" children fo rever-married women and currently inarricd women, according to number of l iving children. Victl lam 1997

Nu mb er o f l ivi r~gebildre~ ~Ideal num ber of children 0 I 2 3 4 5 6+ Total0 0.0 0.0 0. I 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

15.8 13.7 3.3 2.2 1.3 0.4 0.0 5.078.2 80.5 84.7 53.3 50.3 41.4 27.9 66.32.9 3.7 7.7 33.3 I I.I 16.0 11.8 13.24 1.4 1.9 4.1 10.5 34.7 23.5 33.6 I 1.95 0.0 O.l 0.0 0.4 1.7 14.6 2.7 1.66+ 0.0 0.0 0. I 0. I 0.5 4.2 20.6 1.7Non-num eric response 1.7 0. I 0.0 0, I 0.4 0.0 3.4 0.4Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 I00.0 10 0.0 100.0 100.0 100.0Nu mb er 202 1,173 1,673 1.155 700 413 347 5,664Mean ideal numb er o f childrenEver-married wom en 1.9 1.9 2. I 2.5 2.9Nu mb er of women 199 1,172 1.672 1.153 698 3.2 3.8 2.4413 335 5.643

Currently married wo m en 1.9 2.0 2. I 2.5 2.9 3.2 3.9 2.5Nu m ber of wom en 183 1,067 1.581 1.106 675 392 316 5.321Note: The means excIude women who gave non-numeric responses.

Includes cu rrent pregnancy

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Household surveys typically find a correlation between actual fam ily size and the ideal number ofchildren wome n desire. There are several reasons for this. First, women who desire larger fami lies tend toachieve larger families. Second, women may adjust their ideal family size upwards, as the actual numberof children increases. It is possible that women with large families, being on average older than wome nwith small families, have a larger ideal family size, because of attitudes they acquired 20 to 30 years ago.Despite the likeli hood that some rationalization occurs, it is common to find that respondents ' stated idealfamily size is lower than their actual number of l iving children.

Table 6.5 indicates that, on average, the ideal family size for ever-married women is 2.4 children.This represent s a declin e of 0.4 children from a mean of 2.8 found in the IC DS-94 and a declin e of 0.9children from a mean o f 3.3 found in the VNDHS-I.

Table 6.5 indicates that most women want small families. More than two-thirds of ever-marriedwomen (71 percent) prefer the one- or two-child family norm that the govern ment f amil y plan ningprogram has been promoting. One-fourth (25 percent) consider a three- or four-child family ideal. Lessthan 4 percent want five or more children.

As expected, higher parity women show a preference for more children; the mean ideal number ofchildren amon g ever-married womcn increases from 1.9 among childless women to 2.5 amon g wo menwith three children and to abont 4 am ong women with six or more li ving children.

Table 6.6 presents the mean ideal number of children for ever-married w ome n by age andselected background characteristics. The mean ideal family size increases directly with age, from 2:0children among ever-married women age I5-19 to 2.4 children among women age 30-34 and to 2.8children among women age 45-49.

Table 6.6 Ideal number of children by backeround characteristicsMean ideal number of children lbr ever-married women by age and selected background characteristics. Vietnam1997Background Agecharacteristics 15-19 20 -2 4 25 -2 9 30 -3 4 35 -3 9 40 -4 4 45-49 TotalResidenceUrban 1.9 1.9 2. I 2.2 2. I 2.3 2.4 2.2Rural 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.8. 3.0 2.5Project provincesNo 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.9 2.4Yes 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.8 2.4RegionNorthern Uplands 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.2Red River Delta 2.() 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1North Central 2.2 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.9 3. I 2.6Central Coast 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.9 3.2 3.2 3. I 2.8Central I lighlands 2.3 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.8 4.3 3.1Southeast 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.5 3.1 2.4Mekong River Delta 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.6 2.9 3.4 3.5 2.7

Educat ionNo education 1.9 2.5 2.6 3.0 3.1 3.7 3.6 3.1Some primary 2. I 2.2 2.5 2.7 3.0 3.2 3.4 2.8Completed primary 2. I 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.8 3.0 2.5Completed lower secondary 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2Completed higher secondary+ 1.9 2.0 2.1 2. I 2.2 2.2 2. ITotal 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.8 2.4

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O ther d if ferent ia ls for ideal number o f ch i ldren in Table 6.6 para l le l those observed fo r fert i l i ty .There is l i t t le d i f ference by residence, a l though the me an fo r rura l wom en is s l ight ly h igher than the meanfo r urban wom en. Strong regional var ia tions are apparent . The lowest ideal fam ily s ize is found in theRed River De lta where wom en wa nt on ly 2.1 chi ldren. In contrast, the h ighest ideal fam ily s ize is tbundin the Cent ra l H igh lands, where women w ant to have an average o f 3 . ] ch i ld ren . Wom en in the Nor thernUplands wa nt only 2.2 chi ldren, the second lowest level in the country.Educat ional at ta inmen t is c losely asso ciated w ith ideal fam ily s ize: the h igher the level o f "educat ion, the lower the preferred number o f chi ldren. Thus, wom en with no educat ion reported anaverage idea l fami ly s ize o f jus t o ver 3 ch i ld ren wh i le wom en w i th a t lea st comple ted lo w er secondaryeducat ion want, on average, one chi ld less. I=1 a l l educat ion categor ies, the m ean ideal num ber o f ch i ldrenfo r wom en in Igg7 was lower than fo r women in 1994 (F igure 6 . 3 ) .

F i g u r e 6 . 3M e a n Id e a l N u m b e r o f C h ild re n fo r E v e r- m a r r ie d W o m e nb y L e ve l o f E d u c a tio n , V i e t n a m 1 9 7 4 a n d 1 9 9 7

3,53

2.52

1.51

0.50

MeanNO.o ~! z 6

No e d u c a t i o n Someprimary

2.5 2.2 2~2 2.1i t t ICom ple ted Com ple tec~ Compie tec iprimary lower highersecondary secondary+

L r ~ 1 9 9 4 I B 1 9 9 7 J

6.4 Fertility Plann ingIn o rder to est imate the leve ls o f unw anted fe r t i l i t y , the VN D H S - I I inc luded a q uest ion on

whether each b ir th in the three years before the survey was planned (wanted then), mist imed (wanted butat a la ter t im e), o r unwa nted (no t wanted at a l l) , Mea sures based on thas data are l ike ly to underest imateunwa nted fer t i l i ty because wom en m ay rat ional ize m ist ime d and unwanted pregnancies and declare themas wanted once the chi ldren are born.

Table 6.7 show s the percent d ist ribut ion o f b ir ths in three years before the survey by p lanningstatus. O ve ral l , near ly three- fourths (73 percent) o f b ir ths were planned (compa red w ith 67 percent in1 9 9 4 ) , 15 percent were m ist ime d, and 12 percent were not w anted at a l l .7 8

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As expected, the proportion of unplanned births is smallest for first order births and increasesdirectly with birth order. Only 1 percent of first order births were not wanted while 43 percent of fourthand higher order births were unwanted. Similarly, a large proportion of births to older women wereunwanted.

Table 6.7 Fertility planningPercent distribution of births in the three years preceding the survey by fertilityplanning status, according to birth order and mother's age at birth, Vietnam1997

Planning status of birthBirth order and Wanted Wanted Not Numbermother's age at birth then la te r wanted Total of birthsB i r t h o r d e rI 92.4 6.5 1.1 100.0 7902 7 2 .6 25.5 1.9 /00.0 6543 57.7 20.5 21.8 100.0 3104+ 47.6 9.5 42.8 I00.0 384A g e a t b i r t h i

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