The effect of infant death on subsequent fertility in Korea and the role of family planning.

This paper studies the effect of infant death on subsequent fertility in a developing country, examining spacing of children and additional births following the survival or death of the preceding infant. The material is provided by the 1971 National Fertility Survey of Korea, 23,635 retrospective birth records of 6,285 women. The findings suggest that prior to the introduction of a national family planning program, the influence of infant death was limited to the biological effect resulting from a shortened lactational period. Since fertility regulation methods have been made available throughout the country, motivational effects to replace the lost child appeared to emerge. The proportion of excess births attributable to infant deaths has increased in recent years. However, because of the lowered infant mortality, the overall impact of infant death on the national fertility level appears to be small.