Effects of child gender preference on contraceptive use in rural Bangladesh

While people in rural Bangladesh have adopted the use of modem contraceptives over the past two decades, they traditionally have a parental preference for sons over daughters. This paper examines how the child gender preference influences a woman's use of modern contraceptives in Matlab, rural Bangladesh. This study is based on data from 300 women in the treatment area, where modern contraceptive prevalence is exceptionally high, and 144 women in the comparison area, where modern contraceptive prevalence is relatively low. These women were interviewed between 1995 and 1996. The treatment area results show that the desire for sons exerts a significant influence on contraceptive use, whereas the desire for daughters contrast, the comparison area results suggest that it is the number of currently surviving sons and daughters that exerts a significant influence on contraceptive use.