This study describes how international migration, including refugee status, affects both child spacing and awareness of and interest in family planning. Guatemalan, Salvadoran, and Belizean women with children under six years of age (n = 133) were interviewed in a survey conducted in 1989 in three settlements in Belize, Central America that have a high proportion of refugees and economic immigrants. Migration was characterized by women's nationality, residency status, and length of time in Belize. Over half of the women were interested in family planning, and two-thirds of them had discussed family planning with their spouses. Among women interested in family planning, 62% could spontaneously mention a method of contraception; the pill and sterilization were each mentioned by a quarter of these women. The women had a median age of 28 years, averaged 4.5 live births, and wanted 1.5 additional children. There was no effect of migration on fertility, but when mother's age, parity, and available acreage were controlled for, refugees wanted twice as many additional children as permanent residents or those without legal residency (p < .003). The latter had shorter intervals from migration to next birth (p < .02). Referral to family health services when women immigrants and refugees register at entry is recommended, as are culturally and linguistically appropriate services available for all women.
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Summer 1993
Migration|
February 05 2008
Fertility among Central American Refugees and Immigrants in Belize
Nancy Moss;
Nancy Moss
1
Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch, Center for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892
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Michael Stone;
Michael Stone
2
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
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Jason Smith
Jason Smith
3
Research Associate, Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
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Human Organization (1993) 52 (2): 186–193.
Citation
Nancy Moss, Michael Stone, Jason Smith; Fertility among Central American Refugees and Immigrants in Belize. Human Organization 1 June 1993; 52 (2): 186–193. doi: https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.52.2.d5148v8415776537
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