Fertility inhibiting effects of the intermediate fertility variables in two Nigerian sub-groups

"In this paper, the fertility-inhibiting effects of the intermediate fertility variables among the Ikale-Yoruba are contrasted against those of the Ekiti, another Yoruba group for which more conventional family building practices have been reported. The objectives of the comparative approach are as follows: (a) to show that abstinence is not a factor in the reduction of marital fertility among the Ikale-Yoruba, as it is in other sub-groups studied so far; (b) that alternative outlets of fertility reduction, such as reliance on the protection offered by post-partum amenorrhoea, and some practice of folk and modern methods of contraception, are employed." The data, which were collected in Nigeria in 1977, concern 460 currently married Ikale-Yoruba women and some of their husbands, and 535 eligible Ekiti-Yoruba women. The results show that although total fertility rates between the two groups were similar, there were significant differences concerning the relative reliance by each group on postpartum abstinence and contraception. (summary in FRE, ITA)