IT was once thought that fertility below a level could not be achieved without changes in the material conditions of the people.

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.

In 1994, ICPD stressed gender equity as a precondition for health and development while affirming the need to address women's subordination in reproductive health programs. However, those responsible for implementing these broad goals still struggle with how to operationalise gender-aware approac

A growing recognition that population dynamics, quality of life and women's status are closely inter related argues strongly for a fresh look at India's population program.

It has been observed that in the 1960s, the Ig (index of marital fertility) in Sri Lanka for the first time, fell at least ten per cent below the plateau level of the pre-1960 decades [1].

Once effective methods of fertility limitation become widely available within a population, the impact of fertility intentions on subsequent fertility becomes a matter of both theoretical and practical importance.

It is now common practice to infer the social status of women from their demographic characteristics. Yet it is not so easy to read through demographic progress, in terms of declines in mortality and fertility, to make unambiguous judgments about trends in women's social standing.

There is a plethora of information on the analyses of fertility differentials by various socio-economic factors.

The RUWSEC case study is useful and inspiring, for it provides in-depth information and insight into what a women-centered reproductive health approach actually means at field and organizational levels.