Child Mortality and the Effect on Fertilty
Phil 205B! Section 2
Final Paper

Child mortality has been an ongoing global issue for centuries, but more so in developing countries. Child mortality can be a broad topic; this paper will narrow the topic of child mortality down focusing on child mortality and its effects on fertility in developing countries. Although there hasn't been any evidence proving causality between the relationship of child mortality and fertility, there has been research and studies showing a strong positive correlation between the two. One might argue that by reducing levels of child mortality fertility will become an economical burden on these developing countries due to an increase in fertility rates and population growth. I disagree with this argument; I argue that as child mortality rates decline or rise so does the fertility rates due to underlying biological and social factors. Breastfeeding is an example of these biological factors that has an effect on fertility; which in turn has an effect on child mortality rates. During the period of breastfeeding a woman experiences a change called postpartum amenorrhea in which the female body comes to a pause with the processes of ovulation and menstruation. Since the death of an infant would affect the lactation period (breastfeeding) this in return will cause the duration of the postpartum amenorrhea to shorten, and the processes of ovulation and menstruation returns which increases the woman's chance of immediately conceiving again and raising the fertility rates. Not only is breastfeeding a biological factor it is a social factor as well. Up until recently in many developing countries, if the husband engages in sexual intercourse with their wives during the lactation period it is considered taboo. This is looked down upon and is considered to be completely unacceptable. The lactation period can last up to two years in length. Therefore these women have looked to different supplements to feed their infants instead of breastfeeding. These supplements vary from the use of formula to early usage of solid foods well before the infant is able to digest these types of foods properly. Due to the desire of sexual intercourse from the women spouse's the lives of the children are in danger. The children tend to die early from the consumption of the formula due to poor water sanitation, and the implementation of solid food at an early as leads to child mortality as well because the infant will lack the proper nutrients needed from the mother's breast milk which leads o malnutrition. Since these infants die early and the duration of the postpartum amenorrhea is shorten in these women are once again more likely to conceive shortly after the death of their children. This supports my argument that as the rates of child mortality increases so does the rates of fertility. Another social factor that has an effect on the rates of child mortality and fertility are gender replacement births. This can make both child mortality rates and fertility rates either increase or decline. In developing third world countries the birth of a son is a common preference for the men more so than the women, they prefer a son to carry on the family name, so if the infant son dies or survives it alters fertility rates. For example, if a married couple gives birth to a male and he survives then this contributes to the decline in the rates of child mortality, and deters the mother from having the desire to continue conceiving other children; which in return declines the fertility rates. Another example of both fertility rates and child mortality rates increasing simultaneously is when a mother loses a son while he is an infant and she feels the need to replace her son with another child in hopes of conceiving a son again. Thoughtful planning of family size is another social factor that alters the rates of child mortality and its effects on fertility. Many people tend to plan how many children they want once their married and settled downed. In developing countries the average amount of children a family plans for are around three or four per family. By properly planning for a child this decreases the chances of any them being a child mortality statistic and decreases the desire to have more children since the births were successful and healthy which decreases the rates of fertility, there would be no need to replace any children, because none were lost. In conclusion, I have proven my argument that as child mortality rates decline or rise so does the fertility rates due to underlying biological and social factors with the supportive examples and statements used above. The factors breastfeeding, gender selection effect, and family size perfectly supported my argument which gives more reason for others who are in favor of the opposing argument to think a little differently.

Bibliography
Cochrane, S., & Hill, S. (1943) : Infant and Child Mortality as a determinant of fertility.