Upadhyay Ushma D, Gipson Jessica D, Withers Mellissa, Lewis Shayna, Ciaraldi Erica J, Fraser Ashley, Huchko Megan J, Prata Ndola
Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, 1330 Broadway, Suite 1100, Oakland, CA 94612, United States; Women's Health & Empowerment Center of Expertise, University of California Global Health Institute, United States.
Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, 650 Charles E. Young Drive South, CHS 46-071B, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States; Women's Health & Empowerment Center of Expertise, University of California Global Health Institute, United States.
Soc Sci Med. 2014 Aug;115:111-20. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.06.014. Epub 2014 Jun 11.
Women's empowerment has become a focal point for development efforts worldwide and there is a need for an updated, critical assessment of the existing evidence on women's empowerment and fertility. We conducted a literature review on studies examining the relationships between women's empowerment and several fertility-related topics. Among the 60 studies identified for this review, the majority were conducted in South Asia (n = 35) and used household decision-making as a measure of empowerment (n = 37). Overall, the vast majority of studies found some positive associations between women's empowerment and lower fertility, longer birth intervals, and lower rates of unintended pregnancy, but there was some variation in results. In many studies, results differed based on the measure of empowerment used, sociopolitical or gender environment, or sub-population studied. This article is one of the first evaluations of the literature assessing the relationships between women's empowerment and fertility. We identify several key issues that merit further investigation.
妇女赋权已成为全球发展努力的焦点，有必要对现有的关于妇女赋权与生育的证据进行更新且批判性的评估。我们对研究妇女赋权与几个生育相关主题之间关系的研究进行了文献综述。在本次综述确定的60项研究中，大多数研究在南亚进行（n = 35），并将家庭决策作为赋权的衡量标准（n = 37）。总体而言，绝大多数研究发现妇女赋权与较低的生育率、较长的生育间隔以及较低的意外怀孕率之间存在一些积极关联，但结果存在一些差异。在许多研究中，结果因所使用的赋权衡量标准、社会政治或性别环境或所研究的亚人群而异。本文是评估妇女赋权与生育之间关系的文献的首批评估之一。我们确定了几个值得进一步调查的关键问题。
