Recent changes in the sociodemographic profile of sterilization acceptors in Nepal

The records of 8056 Nepalese males and 9291 females sterilized from 1979-1983 were analyzed. Compared with data from previous studies (1970-1976), significant decreases occurred in the average age of female acceptors (30.6 vs. 33.1, P less than 0.01) and wives of male acceptors (28.4 vs. 31.7, P less than 0.01). Also, the average number of living children per couple decreased by one child (4.9-3.9, P less than 0.01) for male acceptors and 0.6 (4.8-4.2, P less than 0.01) for female acceptors. Finally in 83.2% of the cases, the operation was performed within 3 years of the last delivery.