In order to understand reproductive health needs at different life stages, it is necessary to know the ages at which individuals typically experience key reproductive health-related events. The intervals between menarche, initiation of sexual intercourse, cohabitation and marriage, pregnancies and births, the completion of desired childbearing, and sterility all affect sexual and contraceptive behaviors, lifetime fertility, and reproductive health service needs. However, a comprehensive examination of the timing of these stages of reproductive life is overdue. This analysis will use the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth to calculate the median age at each of the reproductive transitions mentioned above. The primary methodological technique will be survival or life-table analysis. Hazard models will also be used to compare the ages at which different demographic subgroups experience each life event. The implications for pregnancy and STD risk and reproductive health service needs will be discussed. We are also exploring the availability of data to make parallel estimates for men, and will include these if this turns out to be feasible.
Learning Objectives: Attendees will learn the ages at which women experience key reproductive health events, as well as how such numbers are calculated and their implications for reproductive health service needs
Keywords: Reproductive Health, Statistics
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.