Symbiotic Relationship of High Fertility, High Childhood Mortality and Socio-Economic Status in an Urban Peruvian Population

Document Type

Article

Authors

A Roberto Frisancho, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Jane E. Klayman, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Jorge Matos, Maternity Hospital of Lima, Peru

Abstract

The reproductive, biological and socio-economic characteristics of a sample of 4,952 subjects derived from a Peruvian population of low and medium socio-economic status were studied. The study suggests that under conditions of poverty there exists a symbiotic relationship whereby low socio-economic status is associated with a less efficient mechanism to control family size. This characteristic permits the mother of low socio-economic status to attain a more complete child-bearing period. As child­hood mortality is inversely related to socio-economic status, so, with an increase in childhood deaths there is an increase in live births in a compensatory fashion. High fertility is the net result of these interactions. The implications of these findings to attempts to decrease population fertility through birth control alone are discussed.

Recommended Citation

Frisancho, A Roberto; Klayman, Jane E.; and Matos, Jorge (1976) "Symbiotic Relationship of High Fertility, High Childhood Mortality and Socio-Economic Status in an Urban Peruvian Population," Human Biology: Vol. 48: Iss. 1, Article 10.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol48/iss1/10