Midis de la recherche

Shah Md Atiqul Haq (DEMO/UCLouvain),
Are fertility preferences related with the perception of risks of infant mortality, landholding and family type? A comparative study on vulnerable populations to extreme weather events in Bangladesh.

This study explores how fertility preference is related to increased risks of dying of children, changing land sizes and changes in family type resulting from the impacts of extreme weather events in Bangladesh. We use both quantitative and qualitative data collected from 759 married women from four different areas (two villages vulnerable to cyclones and floods and two villages not vulnerable to any extreme weather events). Preliminary findings show that among women losing their children, those living in vulnerable areas have higher fertility preferences than those living in areas not vulnerable. Landless couples in extreme areas also had higher fertility preferences. Extreme weather events lead to lower socio-economic conditions and subsequently to higher infant mortality and higher fertility intentions.