Introduction

This article refershow fertility differs among the women age 15 to 49 using data from
Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS 2014) and how education level, religion and
residence influence the fertility pattern of these women. However, it fails to incorporate the
actual factors that relate with fertility differential of women rather it involved variables those
are related with childbearing decisions.

Affirmative finding:
This paper states that women with higher education tend to have less children compared to
less educated women. In addition, they tend to be more conscious about family planning. Non-
Muslim more educated women were less likely to have five or more children compared with
uneducated counterparts. Urban women are more likely to have no children compare to rural
women. Women with higher education had children at the later ages and their average age of
first birth is 19 years. More than 90% of women had at least one child by the age of 49 which is
similar to a previous study of demographic, socioeconomic and cultural factors affecting fertility
differential in Nepal.

Drawbacks:
Fertility does not have to do anything with mother’s education, geographical location and
religion. It is totally dependent on nutritional and biological factors, and also how mothers were
raised. Education of the mother matters when they decide on the number of children. This is
evident that educated mothers are more conscious about the bright future of their children and
the opportunity costs related with them. Hence, they decide to bear fewer children. Lastly,
women’s earning also creates huge impact on decision making on childbearing practices. On the
other hand, husband’s consent, education and financial stability is also deciding factors that
should be incorporated in the study.
Conclusion
Though, the paper suggests that fertility patterns mostly differs by level of education rather
religion and residence, these variables can be the key factors behind deciding on childbearing
not fertility. If fertility is concerned then they should include variables like mother’s nutritional
choice, involvement in physical activities and pattern of their upbringing. Therefore, physical
factors are more relevant with fertility and giving births to child. However, we can conclude
that the variable chosen are inappropriate which fails to reflect the true scenario of the fertility
differential of women in Bangladesh, but it provides some essential information about the
pattern of childbearing policy for women and family.