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This study compares fertility-related behaviour in the adjacent regions of West Bengal (a state in eastern India) and Bangladesh. The starting premise of the paper is that common history and language has led to diffusion of fertility practices from West Bengal to Bangladesh. This is hypothesised to create a homogenous pattern of fertility behaviour in the bordering districts of both political regions. The study uses Demographic Health Survey (DHS) and District level Household Survey data for 1992, 2002, and 2012. Despite some reservations – as DHS is directed to produce state-level estimates, while DLHS is geared to yield district-level estimates – the similarity in sampling strategies and coverage of all districts (in West Bengal) and divisions (in Bangladesh) implies that the two data sets may be pooled, particularly in the absence of any alternatives. We tested whether fertility behaviour in (i) bordering districts differs from non-border districts in both countries, and (ii) bordering districts of both countries are similar using multi-level linear and logistic models. Outcome variables are contraceptive prevalence rate, and number of ever born children. The results reveal similarities in fertility behaviour between border divisions of Bangladesh and West Bengal, indicating possible cross-border diffusion of fertility practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing the birth of children with β-thalassemia major (β-TM) is an important health issue. We investigated family planning practices and related factors among families with affected children. We selected a total of 569 parents from the parents of patients with β-TM who were registered at thalassemia referral clinics in southern Iran. Information was recorded regarding demographic variables, socioeconomic status and family planning practices. The correlations between family planning practice and related factors were evaluated. Approximately 96.0% of the parents (546) were practicing contraception at the time of the study. Only 12.8% of the families whose first child had β-TM decided to have no more children. The most frequent contraceptive method was tubal ligation (TL) (37.5%) followed by oral contraceptive pills (OCP) (31.5%). Higher education level of the mothers and higher economic status of the families were found to be related with the lower numbers of children with β-TM ( p = 0.001). We found a high percentage of safe contraception being used by at-risk couples. It seems that educational programs have been effective in influencing family planning practices. Further attention should be devoted to increasing the knowledge of at-risk couples with a greater focus on parents of low socioeconomic status. Because of cultural factors in Iran, many of these at-risk couples opted to achieve the desired family size, so implementation of a well-organized prenatal diagnostic system seems necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]