The traditional theory of demographic transition developed by Professor F.W. Notestein and his colleagues has occupied the center stage in the demographic literature for quite a long time. This theory was developed on the basis of the demographic experience of the developed world.

In recent decades, the most common means by which couples regulate fertility have changed from methods requiring control or cooperation by men, e.g., condoms, withdrawal and periodic abstinence, to those for which women bear primary responsibility e.g., virtually all-reversible modern methods.