Special Collection 1 - Article 10 | Pages 319–348  

Concern Regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic and Individual Childbearing: Evidence from Rural Malawi

By Claire Marie Noël-Miller

This article is part of the Special Collection 1 „Social Interactions and HIV/AIDS in Rural Africa“

Abstract

I examine if and how rural Malawians alter their childbearing as a consequence of concern regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The paper is motivated by the debate which opposes two ideas regarding the childbearing effect of high HIV infection rates and heightened AIDS mortality: one, the acceleration of childbearing as individuals find themselves under time pressure to meet their reproductive goals and two, the decrease in childbearing as parents opt to avoid the risk of transmitting the virus.
I find some evidence to support the hypothesis of reduced childbearing in the presence of high levels of worry regarding HIV/AIDS. However, this finding does not seem to apply to younger women, who are perhaps subject to relatively stronger childbearing promoting norms.

Author’s Affiliation

• Claire Marie Noël-Miller - University of Pennsylvania, United States of America EMAIL

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

Fertility differences across immigrant generations in the United Kingdom
Volume 52 - Article 33    | Keywords: event history analysis, fertility, immigrant, second generation, United Kingdom

Amish fertility in the United States: Comparative evidence from the American Community Survey and Amish population registries
Volume 52 - Article 26    | Keywords: American Community Survey (ACS), Amish, fertility, natural fertility, total fertility rate (TFR)

Examining the relationships between education, coresidential unions, and the fertility gap by simulating the reproductive life courses of Dutch women
Volume 52 - Article 24    | Keywords: contraception, education, fertility, GGS, life course, LISS, microsimulation, Netherlands, physiology, unions

Job creation, job destruction, and fertility in Germany
Volume 52 - Article 13    | Keywords: fertility, gender, Germany, job creation, job destruction, labor market, spatial modelling, unemployment

The changing inter-relationship between partnership dynamics and fertility trends in Europe and the United States: A review
Volume 52 - Article 7    | Keywords: childbearing, Europe, family complexity, fertility, fertility, marriage, partnership, United States of America