Levels and Determinants of Wanted and Unwanted Fertility in Latin America

Ever since attempts were made to construct quantitative measures of individual fertility preferences and intentions, the interpretation of these measures has been controversial. Women in developing countries often have more children than they desire. This is particularly the case in Latin America, where the relative gap between actual and desired fertility levels is larger than in any other major region of the world. As is pointed out by Bongaarts (1997), unwanted fertility typically varies with actual fertility levels according to an inverted U-curve, with the highest levels being attained in countries at intermediate levels of their fertility transition, which is where the bulk of the Latin American countries find themselves at present. Cuba, which is already in an advanced stage of its fertility transition, is an exception, in as far as the ideal family size declared by women in that country is typically larger than the actual Total Fertility Rate (Cuba, 1991). The measurement of the degree to which women are having births that are either undesired or mistimed provides much of the justification for the efforts undertaken by national governments and international agencies to promote universal access to contraceptive technology.