Motherhood after 45 years: UP, Haryana have highest child-bearing rate

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 1

Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Haryana reported the highest child bearing rate of women in the age group of 45-49.

According to Sample Registration System (SRS) Statistical Report 2018, released recently, UP reported a fertility rate of 10.4 in 45-49 age group in 2018 while Haryana had 7.0. At national level it was 4.8.

The fertility rate is defined as number of live births per 1,000 women.

The fertility rate in Haryana in 45-49 age bracket was lower previously–3.5 in 2017, 3.3 in 2016 and 2.0 in 2015.

The SRS report, published by the office of Registrar General of India annually, also evaluates fertility of women in comparison with their education standards across different age groups.

In Haryana, among the literates in the age group of 45-49, the women who were educated below primary level led with 10.2 fertility rate, followed by graduates and above at 8.3 and primary educated ones at 8.2. The illiterate women had a fertility rate of 7.4 in this age group.

Otherwise, Haryana had its highest fertility rate in the age group of 25-29 at 169.1 in 2018, implying most mothers in the state bear children in this age group. It is followed by the age group of 20-24 at 118.3 and 30-34 at 91.4.

Even in the age group of 40-44, Haryana reported a fertility rate of 10.6 in 2018.

In the North, J&K women had a fertility rate of 6.5, Himachal Pradesh (HP) had 1.5, Punjab and Uttarakhand had reported 3.5 while Delhi had 1.7 in 45-49 age bracket.

Except for Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal where fertility reached its peak in the age group 20-24, and Jammu & Kashmir where fertility reached its peak in the age group 30-34, the highest fertility in all the other bigger states and UTs was attained in the age group 25-29, says the report.

Fertility, however, declined from age 30 in all, except Jammu & Kashmir where it declined from age 35.

“The higher fertility rate in 45-49 age group in Haryana is due to widely available treatment for infertility and son preference which forces couple to have children till late. However, if we see the overall picture, social economic transition has forced women to compress their reproductive period. It starts late and ends early,” said Prof Aswini Kumar Nanda, who works as a health economist at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh.

Infant mortality rate  

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), which is defined as the infant deaths (less than one year) per thousand live births, in Haryana was more than the neighbouring states in 2018.

The IMR in Haryana was 30 while it was 13 in Delhi, 19 in HP, 20 in Punjab and 22 in J&K. At national level it was 32. It was the highest in Madhya Pradesh at 48 and lowest in Kerala at 7.

However, the IMR dipped in Haryana by 44.4 per cent from 2006-08 (55.4) to 2016-18 (30.8).

The neo-natal (when age is less than 29 days) mortality rate in Haryana was also higher than Delhi, HP, J&K and Punjab.