| Abstract |
The 1993 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) was a nationally representative survey of 7,540 women age 15-49 and 2,336 men age 20-54. The KDHS was designed to provide information on levels and trends of fertility, infant and child mortality, family planning knowledge and use, maternal and child health, and knowledge of AIDS. In addition, the male survey obtained data on men's knowledge and attitudes towards family planning and awareness of AIDS. The data are intended for use by programme managers and policymakers to evaluate and improve family planning and matemal and child health programmes. Fieldwork for the KDHS took place from mid-February until mid-August 1993. All areas of Kenya were covered by the survey, except for seven northem districts which together contain less than four percent of the country's population.
The KDHS was conducted by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) and the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Government of Kenya. Macro International Inc. provided financial and technical assistance to the project through the intemational Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Fertility. Survey results show that fertility has declined precipitously in Kenya over the last 5-10 years. At current fertility levels, a Kenyan woman will give birth to an average of 5.4 children during her reproductive years. Although this is stin high, it is far lower than the level of 6.7 births per women reported for the late 1980s. A rural woman can expect to have an average of 5.8 children, over two children more than an urban women (3.4 children). Fertility rates are much higher in Western Province (6.4 children per wom an) than in Nairobi and Central Province (3.4 and 3.9, respectively).
Childbearing begins earlyin Kenya. Oneinfiveteenagewomen(age 15-19) hasbegunchildbearing (either given birth or is pregnant with her first child). By the time they reach age 19, over 40 percent of women have begun childbearing.
Births that occur too soon after a previous birth face higher risks of illness and early death. The KDHS shows that one-quarter of births in Kenya take place less than two years after a prior birth.
Marriage. There has been a steady increase over the past two decades in the age at which Kenyan women first marry. The median age at marriage among women age 25-29 is 19.5, compared to 18.1 among women age 45-49. Women with secondary education generally marry three years later (21.5) than women with no education (17.0). Women in Coast and Nyanza Provinces have the lowest median age at first marriage (17.4).
Twenty percent of currently married women are in polygynous unions. Polygyny occurs in all provinces and age groups. It is most common among uneducated women (33 percent). The median age at first sexual intercourse is about 17 years for women.
Fertility Preferences. Over half of married women in Kenya either do not want to have any more children or have been sterilised. Another one quarter of women want to wait two years or longer before having their next child. Thus, 78 percent of all married women in Kenya either want to space or to limit their births. |
