A study of differential fertility in bombay

This study is based on special tabulations of the "order of pregnancy," as reported on the birth certificate, according to mother's age, locality, and religion and father's state of birth and duration of stay in Bombay, India. The sample consists of 50 percent of the births registered in 1960 in Bombay (where birth registration has a fairly high degree of completeness).Despite the limitations of statistical information on the complex of factors influencing fertility, it wasfound that three indicators derived from the 1961 census could numerically account for 51 percent of the total variance of the parity averages in the sections of Bombay. Overcrowding (which is an indicator of the level of living) had the strongest influence and accounted alone for 44 percent of the variance. Knowledge of thereligious patternraised thepercentage to49, whileinclusionof theilliteracy measure added only another two to this percentage.An assessment of fertility differences by religious groups, as well as by place of origin of the father, is then carried out. The data show significant differences among religious groups, with Moslems and Buddhists having the highest parity averages, followed by Hindus and Jains. A considerably lower level is shown by Christians, but the lowest parity level is that of the small Parsi community. Mothers whose husbands were born in the south and east were found to show the lowest parity level, while those who have north-born husbands showed the highest level.Finally, the data show consistent increase in age-standardized parity averages with increase of the duration of stay in Bombay. This pattern is observed for each of the three main geographic regions of origin. While this increase is difficult to explain on the basis of the available data, the fact that the pattern of parity differences among regions persists from one duration group to the next lends support to the conclusion that little assimilation seems to have been taking place.