Factors influencing fecundity, fertility, natality and mortality | Anthropology Optional for UPSC PDF Download

Fecundity and Fertility 

Fecundity refers to the capacity of man, a woman, or couple to participate in reproduction i.e the capacity to produce live child. Fertility refers to the actual reproductive performance whether applied to individual or a group.

• Fertility is number of children born to a woman. Fecundity is the ability of women to reproduce a child.
• There is no direct measurement of fecundity, fertility can be studied from the statistics of the birth.
• Fertility of an individual is limited by his / her own fecundity.
• The fecundity of an individual may be quite normal but fertility performance may be low. As fecundity is biological whereas fertility is the actual number of children born.
• Fecundity also indicates maximum fertility level that can be reached.

Factors Responsible for Differential Fertility

Kingsley Davis and Judith Blake gave factors influencing fertility. According to them fertility is influenced by biological, social, economic and political factors.

Biological factors influencing fertility

• Sterility of wife or husband - in male it could be because of low sperm count, non mobility of sperm. In female it could be due to amenorrhea, construction of oviductal funnel and fallopian tube. 
• Frequency of sexual intercourse, normally higher the frequency of intercourse greater the chance of pregnancy. 
• Menarche and menopause duration of fertility period, female fertility period ranges between 15-49 years. Early menopause will lead to less fertility.
• Diseases- if individual have diseases they may get complications in fertility. 
• Induced abortion it causes termination of pregnancy which reduces fertility. 

Social factors influencing fertility

• Family system in joint family fertility is high as there are many people to look after children. 
• Age at marriage if woman gets married at early age then there would be high fertility as fertility period 15-49 years is more for her. 
• Literacy and education level- higher the education level of women lower is the fertility example kerala 100% education and total fertility rate is 1.6 on the other hand bihar has 46% of education and total fertility rate is 3.2.
• Social customs and beliefs - as economic survey 18 says " Son meta preference"  i.e desire to have a male child. Not withstanding the number of female children, children are born till a male child is born. 
• If Spacing between two pregnancies is not maintained then fertility increases. 

Economic factors influencing fertility

• Income level of parents determine the number of children they have. 
• Aspiration of parents determine the fertility rate. 
• Agarian families prefer more children as they need more labour.
• Economic independence of women and her ability to decision making have impact on fertility. In patriarchal socities women don't have say on fertility. 

Political and government factors influencing fertility

• Government policies impact fertility like China's one child policy. 
• Family planning by India government to control birth rates.

Factors influencing Mortality and Natality

According to WHO - Mortality refers to the extinction or removal of all traces or evidences related to life of individual once the birth takes place. While Natality refers to the process of birth of an individual.
There are several biological and socio ecological factors influencing the mortality and Natality:

Ecological factors

• There is huge inter regional disparity in both natality and mortality. The states with high education, awareness and economic life have less mortality and Natality. 
• There is also intra regional disparity in the rates. It is generally observed higher rates in mortality in rural areas due to lack of medical facilities, awareness etc.

Socio cultural factors

• Mortality and Natality depends on the awareness and literacy levels of the population. The population with higher literacy has low mortality.
• The standard of living is inversely related to mortality and Natality death. The greater economic level gives greater access to nutrition and health facilities.

Economic factors

• Access to natural resources and the ability to utilise them plays important role. This creates struggle for food resources there by puts pressure on individual. Example African societies fight for food resources.
• Employment and professional - they reduces fertility in woman but increases psychological stress.

The above factors acts individually and also integratively to influence mortality and Natality of the population.

Conclusion

Fecundity refers to the biological capacity of an individual or couple to reproduce, while fertility refers to the actual reproductive performance. Both fertility and mortality rates are influenced by various factors, including biological, social, economic, and political aspects. Factors such as sterility, age at marriage, education level, income, and government policies all play a role in determining fertility rates. Mortality and natality rates are also affected by ecological, socio-cultural, and economic factors, such as regional disparities, literacy levels, and access to resources. Understanding these factors is crucial for addressing population growth and ensuring the health and well-being of communities worldwide.