Family planning programs have been highly successful over the past 30 years in providing women in developing countries with desired access to contraceptive services and helping to reduce fertility rates. Notwithstanding this success, there is still an urgent need for these programs. The world's population is increasing, with annual population growth still approximately 80 million people. Nearly all of this growth is occurring in developing nations, where fertility rates remain relatively high. This high fertility runs counter to the preferences expressed by millions of women, who actually want to have smaller families. Family planning programs are also desirable because they are associated with a range of other benefits, most notably improvements in women's and children's health. Host countries provide about 60 to 75 percent of funding for family planning. However, funding and technical assistance from donor nations, especially the United States, have been crucial to the past success of family planning programs and are equally important for strengthening and expanding program efforts to meet future challenges.

Compilation of social research studies in private and public opinion on family planning and birth control in Latin America and the ideology and religion issues relating thereto - covers political aspects, psychological aspects, the opposition of the Catholic Church to fertility control, etc. References and statistical tables.

This open access book provides an overview and analysis of the causes and consequences of the massive and highly consequential transition in reproductive behaviour that occurred in Asia, Latin America, and Africa since the mid-20th century. In the 1950s contraceptive use was rare and women typically spend most of their reproductive years bearing and rearing children. By 2020 fertility and contraceptive use in Asia and Latin America reached levels commonly observed in the developed world. Africa’s fertility is still high, but transitions have started in all countries. This monograph is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of these trends and their determinants, covering changes in reproductive behaviour (e.g., use of contraception and abortion), preferences (e.g., desire to limit and space births) and the role of socioeconomic development (e.g., education). The role of government policies and in particular family planning programs is discussed in depth. Particular attention is given to provide a balanced assessment of several political and scientific controversies that have beset the field. As such this book provides an interesting read for a wide audience of undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and public health policy makers.

This report summarizes presentations and discussions at the Workshop on the Social Processes Underlying Fertility Change in Developing Countries, organized by the Committee on Population of the National Research Council (NRC) in Washington, D.C., January 29-30, 1998. Fourteen papers were presented at the workshop; they represented both theoretical and empirical perspectives and shed new light on the role that diffusion processes may play in fertility transition. These papers served as the basis for the discussion that is summarized in this report.