Sterilization and the birth rate.

Sterilization remains irreversible for all practical purposes, but as its procedures become more feasible in developing countries, the question of its potential contribution to fertility decline vis-à-vis other contraceptive methods has increasing significance for family planning program administrators. This question is examined by means of a model that calculates births averted in defined time durations from the acceptance of various contraceptive methods by women of different ages. The findings suggest that without ready access of the population to reversible contraceptive methods that are attractive to birth spacers and tentative birth terminators, the rate of fertility decline is not likely to be satisfactory regardless of the availability, promotion, or popularity of sterilization.