Postpartum sterilisation and demographic progress at Paarl Hospital.

The success of the postpartum sterilisation campaign at Paarl Hospital, CP, irrefutably supports the claim that a quality family planning programme can in itself reduce fertility. In 1971 only 10% of women undergoing sterilisation had 4 or fewer children--this incidence increased to 71% in 1986. Women with more than 10 children are now very rarely found--in 1970 they still accounted for 20% of all patients sterilised. Parity at time of sterilisation has levelled to about 4 in contrast with 7.52 in 1971. It is probable that as many as 15,000 unwanted and unplanned pregnancies have been prevented in Paarl as a result of this sustained effort. The ideal of the 2-child family is increasingly possible.