Population and population growth is a concerned issue discussed by many countries.  Many scholars believe that the exponential population growth will deplete the Earth's resources.  Furthermore, the factors that determine women's fertility are important to understand, in order to resolve the problem of population growth.  In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development concluded that the women's fertility rates were linked to several aspects, such as education, health care, and accessibility to family planning programs.[1]  Although, these factors influence women's fertility, it is important to examine the relationship between women's reproductive career and education to understand the differences in women's total fertility rates.  The example of developing countries and their fertility rates in comparison to unwanted and unplanned pregnancies demonstrate that fertility rates are not reflective of women's desires in family planning.  However, it is important to begin with the definition of women's reproductive life span and careers before examining factors that influence its duration.

            Every woman has a unique reproductive life span.  Furthermore, biological and societal factors establish the length of this duration.  Theoretically, a woman's reproductive life span begins at menarche and terminates at sterility.  However, there are mitigating aspects that can lengthen or shorten this span within this period.  According to Bongaart, the beginning of women's reproductive career occurs at the point in which a woman marries or enters into a committed relationship and ends with its separation.[2]  In addition, there are factors within this desired family planning period, such as breast-feeding, contraceptive use, and induced abortion that may decrease a woman's total fertility rate.  Moreover, there are factors that prolong the beginning of a woman's reproductive career, the connection between education and delayed marriage.

                According to Cleland and Jejeebhoy, a woman's education level is the predominant factor in her reproductive career.[3]  In their study of women's fertility rates in South Asia, they determined that a woman's education level prolonged the age of marriage.[4]  Furthermore, their research reports differences between uneducated women and highly education to be 5.2 years in India, 4.2 years in Pakistan, and 3.0 years in Sri Lanka.[5] However, Cleland and Jejeebhoy discovered that this was only a significant factor with women who had attended secondary school; furthermore, women with no or little education, education portrayed little or no educational influence on their fertility.[6]   Ultimately, the influence of education, by delaying marriage, on a woman's reproductive career decreases her total fertility rate.  This factor indicates that the connection of prolonged marriage of educated women to the amount of desired children affects women's total fertility rate.

            Another aspect of educational influence on a woman's reproductive career is the change in her desired number of children.  According to research performed by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, women with higher levels of education generally want fewer children than their counterparts with lower levels of education.[7] Consistent with this idea, the Guttmacher Institute's research reports that women with seven or more years of education desire a significant number of less children than women with less than seven years of education.  One example of this is in the country of Niger, where women with higher education desired 4.7 children and women with lower levels of education desired 8.0 children.[8]  Furthermore, the Institute claims that higher educated understand that they may not have the ability to educate all of their children if their total fertility rate is higher.[9]  Moreover, the Institute states that educated women spend less time at home and therefore have little time to devote to a large family.[10]

            An additional educational influence on women's reproductive careers is that of access to contraceptives.  Both Bongaart and the Guttmacher Institute report that educated women have a higher knowledge of and access to contraceptive use.[11]  Furthermore, Bongaarts states that educated women are more likely to discuss family planning with their spouses than uneducated women are.  He states that in Pakistan, that only 18 percent of uneducated women discussed family planning with their spouse, compared to 44 percent of educated women that discussed family planning with their spouses.   Therefore, women with higher education have a greater chance at controlling their total fertility rate.

            Despite the advantages that educated women have over their total fertility rate, there are nonetheless a significant number of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies.   According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 1993, 56 percent of Kenyan women with seven years or greater of education had unplanned last births.[12]  Another example is Pakistan, 35 percent of women the same education listed above had unplanned last births. [13]  Furthermore, the Institute claims that better educated women are more likely to have unplanned births than less educated women.[14]  The main explanation for this is that women who desire fewer children have longer reproductive careers in which to prevent pregnancies.  Another explanation is that despite the awareness of contraceptives, in some countries, contraceptives are difficult to attain on a regular basis.  Moreover, contraceptives are not a full method in prevention of pregnancy. [15]  According to Menken, women avoiding pregnancy for fifteen consecutive years by using the pill have a 62 percent chance of unplanned pregnancy.[16]  Additionally, female surgical sterilization as a form of contraception has a 0.5 percent failure rate and male surgical sterilization has a 0.15 percent failure rate.[17]

            In conclusion, it definite that population growth is a concern for many people.  However, women's fertility is a complicated link within that chain.  There is evidence that women's education level significantly affects their total fertility rates.  Furthermore, education affects women's desired fertility rate.  Although, women's attitudes may change with education, they are still having substantial numbers of unplanned pregnancies due in part to the lack of regular accessibility and failure rates of contraceptives.   Therefore, the information demonstrates two important conclusions.  The first is that women's education and access thereof, needs to be greater.  Second, the availability and effectiveness of contraception has to be superior to the current standards.  Until all of the factors that affect women's fertility rates are addressed and corrected, women will continue to have unplanned pregnancies; in addition, population will continue to grow.
 

Endnotes
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[1] Ashford, Lori S. New Perspectives on Population: Lessons from Cairo. Jane Menken, ed., Sociology 3012 Reader, 1995, 32.
[2] Bongaarts, John. Why High Birth Rates Are So Low. Population and Development Review, 1(2), www.jstor.org, 292.
[3] Cleland, John and Shireen Jejeebhoy. Maternal Schooling and Fertility: Evidence from Censuses and Surveys. Jane Menken, ed., Sociology 3012 Reader, 1996, 72.
[4] Cleland and Jejeebhoy, 90.
[5] Cleland and Jejeebhoy, 88.
[6] Cleland and Jejeebhoy, 87.
[7] Alan Guttmacher Institute. Are Women Achieving Their Childbearing Goals? Jane Menken, ed., Sociology 3012 Reader, 1996, 8.
[8] Guttmacher Institute, 3.
[9] Guttmacher Institute, 8.
[10] Guttmacher, 8.
[11] Bongaart, 100 and Guttmacher Institute, 9.
[12] Guttmacher Institute, 2-3.
[13] Guttmacher Institute, 2-3.
[14] Guttmacher Institute, 9.
[15] Guttmacher Institute, 10.
[16] Menken, Jane, Lecture Notes, February 10, 2000.
[17] Percentage of Women Experiencing an Unintended Pregnancy During the First Year of Typical Use and the First Year of Perfect use of Contraception and the Percentage continuing Use at the End of the First
Year. United States. opr.princetom.edu/ed/contfail.html, 1.