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In order to determine the validity of infant mortality estimates based on retrospective reporting, the Honduran Ministry of Health carried out a follow-up survey of women interviewed in a 1987 national survey. Women were interviewed approximately 14 months after the baseline survey and were asked about the outcomes of their pregnancies and the survival status of their young children. The overall infant mortality rate calculated from the follow-up survey was lower than that obtained from the baseline survey, due to the particularly low rate among the group of women who were pregnant at the time of the baseline survey. Possible explanations for this low rate are discussed.Indirect and direct methods may be used to estimate infant mortality rate (IMR). Respondents surveyed retrospectively about births, deaths, and corresponding dates often, however, omit or misreport vital events. Prospective studies virtually eliminate the potential for these types of errors. To test the validity of IMR estimates based upon retrospective reporting, this paper compares the former with estimates drawn from baseline survey data obtained 14 months prior. Baseline data came form 10,159 women ages 15-44, interviewed in 1987, by the Ministry of Health of Honduras. 1048 women were pregnant at baseline, and IMR was estimated to be 48/1000. The follow-up survey questioning pregnancy outcome and survival status of respondents' young children achieved a 74% response rate, and yielded an estimated IMR of 26/1000 for newborns. IMR estimated from follow-up data is probably unrealistically low given mortality trends and socioeconomic conditions in HOnduras. 3 sources of error potentially contributing to low IMR for the cohort of newborns are considered: pregnancy denial, unreported, and underreporting of pregnancies. Future studies should be conducted with more than 1048 pregnant women, baseline survey should be improved to better detect pregnancies, and regional and community studies should be considered in an effort to reduce study cost and boost response rates at follow-up.

This study describes the changes in traditional methods of contraceptive use during 1987-91/92 and explores the association between user characteristics and adoption of traditional methods in Honduras. Data were obtained from the 1987 and the 1991-92 Epidemiology and Family Health Survey in Honduras among women aged 15-44 years who were in consensual or formal unions. The sample excluded women who were pregnant or desired to be pregnant or were amenorrheic subfecund or sexually inactive. Rhythm use increased more than withdrawal use. Pill use decreased by three percentage points. Female sterilization increased by three percentage points. The proportion of traditional method use increased from 19% of all contraceptive use in 1987 to 26% of prevalence in 1991-92. Rhythm users compared to withdrawal users were older and better educated more urban with fewer living children closer to a health facility more likely to be employed and more likely to have wanted the most recent pregnancy. Findings from the multivariate analysis reveal that the chances of practicing rhythm increased with an increased travel time to a health facility. Women who wanted more children were more likely to use rhythm. Women in 1991-92 were twice as likely as women in 1987 to practice rhythm rather than use modern methods. Key determinants differed between rhythm users and modern method users. Year of use was not a significant factor in withdrawal use changes. Additional years of education lowered the chances of withdrawal use. Withdrawal use was significantly more likely among adolescents women aged 20-24 years and women with 8 or more living children. Women using withdrawal or rhythm were more likely to be rural legally married and farther from a health facility. Political factors and anti-family planning campaigns may have been factors in the shifts in use.