Fertility Intentions and Union Status: A Comparison between Jamaica and the U.S.

Natalee Gooden, Bowling Green State University

It is important to study fertility intentions since a theoretical and empirical link exists between fertility intentions and fertility behavior. Furthermore, information on fertility intentions and how it varies across subgroups of society will help policy makers target women most in need of family planning services. There are a growing number of studies of fertility intentions in the U.S. but few and dated studies in Jamaica The U.S. work suggests the importance of considering union status since pregnancies within non-stable unions are more likely to be unplanned or unwanted. The major goal of this project is to examine how women’s fertility intentions differ by union type, in addition to social and economic factors. I plan to use the Reproductive Health Survey 2002 for the analysis of the Jamaican women, and for comparative purposes, a sample of U.S. women from the National Survey of Family Growth 2002.