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This study analyzes longitudinal data from Matlab, Bangladesh, to examine the impact of child mortality on subsequent contraceptive acceptance and continuation.

The recent decline in fertility in Bangladesh froin a total fertility rate of 6.3 children per women in 1975 to 3.5 in 1995 (MHPC, 1978:73; BBS, 1996) has created interest among researchers, policy makers and academicians.

The importance of postpartum amenorrhoea for reducing fertility is especially pronounced in a developing country like Bangladesh where levels of contraceptive use have until recently remained relatively low. The duration of postpartum amenorrhoea in Bangladesh is among the longest in the world.

One of the purposes of family planning programmes in developing countries is to provide for the unmet needs of couples for contraception.

The concept of fecundability - the monthly probability of conception in women - is one of the principal determinants of fertility and one of the most important parameters for studying fertility patterns in different societies.

Bangladesh, with its characteristic high growth rate and population density,
widespread poverty, and very low literacy and standard of living, has faced no greater
problem than its ever-increasing population. Its size, composition and rate of growth of

In 1978, the Bangladesh family planning program launched a national program of outreach services that continues to the present. Young married women were hired and trained to visit women in their homes, offer contraceptive services, provide information, and support sustained use over time.