The validity of birth and pregnancy histories in rural Bangladesh

BACKGROUND Maternity histories provide a means of estimating fertility and mortality from surveys. METHODS The present analysis compares two types of maternity histories-birth histories and pregnancy histories-in three respects: (1) completeness of live birth and infant death reporting; (2) accuracy of the time placement of live births and infant deaths; and (3) the degree to which reported versus actual total fertility measures differ. The analysis covers a 15-year time span and is based on two data sources from Matlab, Bangladesh: the 1994 Matlab Demographic and Health Survey and, as gold standard, the vital events data from Matlab's Demographic Surveillance System. RESULTS Both histories are near perfect in live-birth completeness; however, pregnancy histories do better in the completeness and time accuracy of deaths during the first year of life. CONCLUSIONS Birth or pregnancy histories can be used for fertility estimation, but pregnancy histories are advised for estimating infant mortality.