The "ideal" number of children of Filipino couples
Date
2003-10
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Abstract
The childbearing decision is a microeconomic variable consequential to the rapid population growth predicament of developing countries. In the Philippine case, this has to be given more consideration for the crafting of public policy on population management programs given that the childbearing decision with respect to the ideal number of children is now becoming exogenously determined by usage of family planning methods as is revealed by the Family Planning Survey of currently married women using modern and traditional contraceptive methods that totaled 33 percent and 16.8 percent respectively in 2001.
The 2000 State of the Philippine Population Report says that the Philippine population is expected to double in 35 years. The government, hence, must make population management programs as important components of its public policy to sequentially prevent this prediction from becoming a reality. Through information campaigns, couples' decisions on reproductive behavior would be altered to conform to favorable population growth rate. When couples are able to realize their ideal family sizes, alternatively, their ideal . number of children, the projected population of about 154 million in year 2035 could be prevented. Therefore, analyzing the inter-couple differences in fertility goals is a good start for demographic policy makers in crafting population management programs. Since underlying these variations are potential sources of population growth that may suggest the missing component for a more effective one.
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Family planning, Reproductive health, Fertility, Fertility preferences, Family