Since India’s independence, population stabilization has been one of the prime concerns in its development agenda.

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

Despite its many advantages, the employment of women in economic activity in India has been associated with increased mortality for infants and young children. Simultaneously, narrower gender differentials in child mortality among employed women have been noted.

High family size desire and low acceptance of family planning constitute, the two main factors underlying the high fertility of the Indian population. Excessive loss of children in early childhood in rural areas is considered to be contributory to both of the above factors.

The theoretical framework of this paper takes into an account the relationship between women’s work in subsistence agriculture and the rural development strategies, both at the local and national levels.

It is by now almost an axiom with demographers, labour economists and economic historians th