Age pattern of fertility in the Sudan

Determinants of birth intervals in Sudan

Using individual birth history data from the Sudan Fertility Survey, 1979, parity-related differences in fertility are demonstrated, as well as differences between socioeconomic groups. Rural women, women with no education and those married to uneducated husbands show rapid parity progression and its cumulative effects on fertility which are consistent over all birth intervals. Urban women, women with some education and those married to educated husbands, however, go rapidly through their second and third birth intervals and then more slowly at higher parities. A limitation of the study was the inability to control fully for the effects of breast-feeding and contraception. There is evidence for a reduction in high parity births, starting in the 1970s.

Determinants of natural fertility in Sudan

The fertility of the Sudanese population (North) is close to natural. The high observed fertility rate in Sudan is found to be a function of the high proportion married and ineffective family planning procedures. The main inhibitor is prolonged lactational amenorrhoea. The high level of fertility exists in spite of a low level of fecundability. The duration of separation between spouses, due to temporary or seasonal migration of husbands, and the pathological causes of high primary sterility, which contribute to the low fecundability, need further investigation.