Desire for Another Child among Partnered Women of reproductive age (15-49) in Burkina Faso: Evidence from the 2021 Demographic and Health Survey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FS.2025.12.20.08Keywords:
Fertility desire, associated factors, reproductive health, partnered women, demographic transition, Burkina FasoAbstract
While global fertility rates have declined from 5.0 to 2.3 children per woman since 1950, sub-Saharan Africa maintains rates above 4.0, with Burkina Faso at 4.4. Unlike East Asian or Latin American countries that experienced rapid fertility declines within 2-3 decades, West African nations show persistently high fertility despite decades of family planning programs. Existing studies focus predominantly on contraceptive use or completed fertility, leaving underexplored the specific factors shaping fertility desires among women who have already begun childbearing—a critical group for understanding ongoing reproductive decision-making. This study aimed to identify factors associated with the desire for another child among partnered women who are already mothers. Understanding these determinants is crucial for guiding reproductive health policies in a context of an incomplete demographic transition. A secondary analysis of data from the Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey was performed on 11,899 partnered women aged 15–49 with at least one living child. Descriptive analyses and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify associated factors. Among the women surveyed, 69.2% desired another child. Multivariate analysis revealed that age was the most predictive factor: women aged 40–49 had 94.5% lower odds of wanting another child compared to those aged 15–29 (AOR=0.055; 95% CI: 0.046–0.066). Ethnicity (Peulh, Gourmantché, Bissa), Muslim religion (AOR=1.15), and a secondary or higher education level (AOR=1.275) were also associated with an increased desire. The ideal number of children showed an exponential relationship (AOR=9.092; 95% CI:4.718–17.519) for five children. Partner or male involvement in health decisions significantly increased the desire for a child compared to female-only decisions. The strong desire for children reflects the persistence of pro-natalist norms and a slow demographic transition. Contrary to expectations, education appears to foster "planned fertility" rather than a reduction in the desire for children. Couple dynamics and cultural factors play a crucial role. These findings call for integrated reproductive health interventions, including education, access to contraceptives, and male engagement, tailored to local socio-cultural contexts.
References
Aguirre, M. S. (2007). The Family and Economic Development: Socioeconomic Relevance and Policy Design. In The family in the new millennium: World voices supporting the ‘natural’ clan, Vol 1: The place of family in human society (pp. 54–92). Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Akinyemi, J. O., & Odimegwu, C. O. (2021). Social contexts of fertility desire among non-childbearing young men and women aged 15–24 years in Nigeria. Reproductive Health, 18(1), 186. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-021-01237-1
Bankole, A., & Singh, S. (1998). Couples’ Fertility and Contraceptive Decision-Making in Developing Countries: Hearing the Man’s Voice. International Family Planning Perspectives, 24(1), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/2991915
Becker, G. S. (1960). An economic analysis of fertility. In Demographic and economic change in developed countries (pp. 209–240). Columbia University Press. https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c2387/c2387.pdf
Berrington, A., & Pattaro, S. (2014). Educational differences in fertility desires, intentions and behaviour: A life course perspective. Advances in Life Course Research, 21, 10–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2013.12.003
Bledsoe, C. H., & Banja, F. (2002). Contingent Lives: Fertility, Time, and Aging in West Africa (Vol. 2). University of Chicago Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=fr&lr=&id=5eShswfUUQoC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Bledsoe+%22C+Bledsoe%22&ots=wI3jjRNH0L&sig=K4LqLKQdoCaDcxiQLhQg3pDLwF8
Bocquier, P. (2005a). World Urbanization Prospects: An alternative to the UN model of projection compatible with the mobility transition theory. Demographic Research, 12, 197–236. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2005.12.9
Bocquier, P. (2005b). World Urbanization Prospects: An alternative to the UN model of projection compatible with the mobility transition theory. Demographic Research, 12, 197–236.
Bongaarts, J. (2001). Fertility and Reproductive Preferences in Post-Transitional Societies. Population and Development Review, 27, 260–281. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3115260
Bongaarts, J. (2011). Can Family Planning Programs Reduce High Desired Family Size in Sub-Saharan Africa? International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 37(4), 209–216. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41336478
Bongaarts, J. (2015). World Fertility Report 2013: Fertility at the Extremes. JSTOR. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=4993922837894657761&hl=en&oi=scholarr
Bongaarts, J. (2017). Africa’s unique fertility transition. Population and Development Review, 43, 39–58. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26622873
Bongaarts, J. (2020). Trends in fertility and fertility preferences in sub-Saharan Africa: The roles of education and family planning programs. Genus, 76(1), 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-020-00098-z
Bongaarts, J., & Casterline, J. (2013). Fertility transition: Is sub-Saharan Africa different? Population and Development Review, 38(Suppl 1), 153. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4011385/
Bongaarts, J., & Casterline, J. B. (2018). From fertility preferences to reproductive outcomes in the developing world. Population and Development Review, 793–809. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45174457
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. sage. https://books.google.com/books?hl=fr&lr=&id=fJS-Bie75ikC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Bronfenbrenner&ots=QzkKtL5KYt&sig=Mn7icaVL1y2IhDV83Jr2XhP6bpw
Brown, J., & Hardee, K. (2018). Fertility, Family Planning Policies and Programs in Africa. PAA 2018 Annual Meeting. https://paa.confex.com/paa/2018/meetingapp.cgi/Session/2022
Bühler, C., & Fratczak, E. (2007). Learning from others and receiving support: The impact of personal networks on fertility intentions in Poland. European Societies, 9(3), 359–382. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616690701314101
Caldwell, J. C. (1982). Theory of Fertility Decline (pp. xi-386 p). http://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=12299862
Caldwell, J. C. (2005a). The End of World Population Growth in the 21st Century: New Challenges for Human Capital Formation and Sustainable Development. JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30040445
Caldwell, J. C. (2005b). [Review of Review of Fertility Transition in South India, by C. Z. Guilmoto & S. I. Rajan]. Journal of Population Research, 22(1), 93–95. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41110827
Casterline, J. B., & Han, S. (2017). Unrealized fertility: Fertility desires at the end of the reproductive career. Demographic Research, 36, 427–454.
Chiappero-Martinetti, E., & Venkatapuram, S. (2014). The Capability Approach: A Framework for Population Studies. African Population Studies, 28(2), 708–720. https://doi.org/10.11564/28-2-604
Cleland, J. (2012). Will Africa benefit from a demographic dividend. The Health & Education Advice & Resource Team (HEART). https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08aafe5274a31e0000706/Demographic-Dividend-November-2012.pdf
Cleland, J., Bernstein, S., Ezeh, A., Faundes, A., Glasier, A., & Innis, J. (2006a). Family planning: The unfinished agenda. The Lancet, 368(9549), 1810–1827. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69480-4
Cleland, J., Bernstein, S., Ezeh, A., Faundes, A., Glasier, A., & Innis, J. (2006b). Family planning: The unfinished agenda. The Lancet, 368(9549), 1810–1827.
Diro, C. W., & Afework, M. F. (2013). Agreement and concordance between married couples regarding family planning utilization and fertility intention in Dukem, Ethiopia. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 903. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-903
Dodoo, F. N.-A. (1998). Men matter: Additive and interactive gendered preferences and reproductive behavior in kenya. Demography, 35(2), 229–242. https://doi.org/10.2307/3004054
Dodoo, F. N.-A., & Frost, A. E. (2008). Gender in African Population Research: The Fertility/Reproductive Health Example. Annual Review of Sociology, 34(1), 431–452. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134552
Dommermuth, L., Hohmann-Marriott, B., & Lappegård, T. (2017). Gender Equality in the Family and Childbearing. Journal of Family Issues, 38(13), 1803–1824. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X15590686
Dudgeon, M. R., & Inhorn, M. C. (2004). Men’s influences on women’s reproductive health: Medical anthropological perspectives. Social Science & Medicine, 59(7), 1379–1395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2003.11.035
Friedman, D., Hechter, M., & Kanazawa, S. (1994). A Theory of the Value of Children. Demography, 31(3), 375–401. https://doi.org/10.2307/2061749
Garenne, M. (2008a). Fertility changes in sub-Saharan Africa. Marco International. https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010045127
Garenne, M. (2008b). Situations of fertility stall in sub-Saharan Africa. African Population Studies, 23(2). http://aps.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/319
Garenne, M. (2012). Education and fertility in sub-Saharan Africa: A longitudinal perspective. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/20133067505
Gilligan, C. (1982). New maps of development: New visions of maturity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1982.tb02682.x
Godefroy, R., & Lewis, J. (2018). Does male education affect fertility? Evidence from Mali. Economics Letters, 172, 118–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2018.08.028
Götmark, F., & Andersson, M. (2020). Human fertility in relation to education, economy, religion, contraception, and family planning programs. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 265. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8331-7
Guengant, J.-P., & May, J. F. (2013). African Demography. Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, 5(3), 215–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/0974910113505792
Guzzo, K. B., & Hayford, S. R. (2020). Pathways to Parenthood in Social and Family Contexts: Decade in Review, 2020. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 117–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12618
Hayford, S. R. (2009). The evolution of fertility expectations over the life course. Demography, 46(4), 765–783. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0073
Hayford, S. R., & Agadjanian, V. (2019). Spacing, Stopping, or Postponing? Fertility Desires in a Sub-Saharan Setting. Demography, 56(2), 573–594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0754-8
Hirschman, C., & Young, Y.-J. (2000). Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. https://csde.washington.edu/downloads/99-12.pdf
Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie, & ICF international. (2023). Enquête Démographique et de Santé 2021 EDSBF-V. INSD et ICF. https://www.insd.bf/sites/default/files/2024-11/Burkina%20Faso%202021%20DHS%20Final%20Report%2009072024.pdf
Kebede, E., Striessnig, E., & Goujon, A. (2022). The relative importance of women’s education on fertility desires in sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel analysis. Population Studies, 76(1), 137–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2021.1892170
Lesthaeghe, R. (2010). The Unfolding Story of the Second Demographic Transition. Population and Development Review, 36(2), 211–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2010.00328.x
Lesthaeghe, R. (2014). The fertility transition in sub-Saharan Africa into the 21st century (Research Reports 14–823; p. 823). Population Studies Center. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ron-Lesthaeghe/publication/294086755_The_fertility_transition_in_Sub-Sahara_Africa_into_the_21st_Century_rr14-823_SS_AFRIC/links/56bdb6e108aec7960639ebc5/The-fertility-transition-in-Sub-Sahara-Africa-into-the-21st-Century-rr14-823-SS-AFRIC.pdf
McDonald, P. (2000). Gender Equity in Theories of Fertility Transition. Population and Development Review, 26(3), 427–439. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2000.00427.x
McQuillan, K. (2004). When Does Religion Influence Fertility? Population and Development Review, 30(1), 25–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.00002.x
Mills, M., Rindfuss, R. R., McDonald, P., te Velde, E., & on behalf of the ESHRE Reproduction and Society Task Force. (2011). Why do people postpone parenthood? Reasons and social policy incentives. Human Reproduction Update, 17(6), 848–860. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmr026
Negash, W. D., Belachew, T. B., Asmamaw, D. B., & Bitew, D. A. (2023). Predictors of desire to limit childbearing among reproductive age women in high fertility regions in Ethiopia. A multilevel mixed effect analysis. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1011. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15952-w
Obare, F., Warren, C., Njuki, R., Abuya, T., Sunday, J., Askew, I., & Bellows, B. (2013). Community-level impact of the reproductive health vouchers programme on service utilization in Kenya. Health Policy and Planning, 28(2), 165–175. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czs033
Ojong, N., Simba, A., & Dana, L.-P. (2021). Female entrepreneurship in Africa: A review, trends, and future research directions. Journal of Business Research, 132, 233–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.032
Rossier, J., & Bollmann, G. (2017). Personality, and Cultural Factors. In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology (pp. 2524–2525). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_5138057EC7E0.P001/REF.pdf
Sánchez-Páez, D. A., & Schoumaker, B. (2022). Fertility Transition in Africa: What do we know and what have we learned about fertility stalls? In The Routledge Handbook of African Demography (1st Edition, p. 35). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429287213-15/fertility-transition-africa-david-s%C3%A1nchez-p%C3%A1ez-bruno-schoumaker
Sauvain-Dugerdil, C. (2014). Targeting Inequalities: A contribution of the Capability Approach to population studies. African Population Studies, 28(2), 721–731. https://doi.org/10.11564/28-2-592
Sedgh, G., & Hussain, R. (2014). Reasons for Contraceptive Nonuse among Women Having Unmet Need for Contraception in Developing Countries. Studies in Family Planning, 45(2), 151–169. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1728-4465.2014.00382.x
Shapiro, D. (2018). Frustrated Fertility Goals of Well-Educated Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. PAA 2018 Annual Meeting. https://paa.confex.com/paa/2018/mediafile/ExtendedAbstract/Paper19752/Frustrated%20Fertility%20Goals%20of%20Well-Educated%20Women%20in%20Sub-Saharan%20Africa-5%20Apr.%202018.pdf
Shapiro, D., & Gebreselassie, T. (2008). Falling and stalling fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Revised Version of Paper Presented at the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population International Seminar on Human Fertility in Africa: Trends in the Last Decade and Prospects for Change, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Shorey, S., Yang, Y. Y., & Ang, E. (2018). The impact of negative childbirth experience on future reproductive decisions: A quantitative systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(6), 1236–1244. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13534
Tabutin, D., & Schoumaker, B. (2004). The Demography of Sub-Saharan Africa from the 1950s to the 2000s:A Survey of Changes and a Statistical Assessment. Population, 59(3), 455–555. https://doi.org/10.3917/popu.403.0521
Tan, P., Evsen, M. S., Soydinç, H. E., Sak, M. E., Özler, A., Turgut, A., Bez, Y., & Gül, T. (2013). Increased psychological trauma and decreased desire to have children after a complicated pregnancy. Journal of the Turkish German Gynecological Association, 14(1), 11–14. https://doi.org/10.5152/jtgga.2013.03
Thomson, E., Hoem, J. M., Vikat, A., Prskawetz, A., Buber, I., Toulemon, L., Henz, U., Godecker, A., & Kantorová, V. (2002). Childbearing in stepfamilies: How parity matter. In Dynamics of fertility and partnership in Europe: Insights and lessons from comparative research (pp. 87–99). United Nations. Economic Commission for Europe. https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-77373
Trinitapoli, J., & Yeatman, S. (2017). The flexibility of fertility preferences in a context of uncertainty. Population and Development Review, 44(1), 87.
Trinitapoli, J., & Yeatman, S. (2018). The Flexibility of Fertility Preferences in a Context of Uncertainty. Population and Development Review, 44(1), 87–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12114
Upadhyay, U. D., Gipson, J. D., Withers, M., Lewis, S., Ciaraldi, E. J., Fraser, A., Huchko, M. J., & Prata, N. (2014). Women’s empowerment and fertility: A review of the literature. Social Science & Medicine, 115, 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.06.014
Wesolowski, K. (2015). To Have or Not to Have a Child? Perceived Constraints on Childbearing in a Lowest-Low Fertility Context. Population, Space and Place, 21(1), 86–101. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.1811
White, M. J., Tagoe, E., Stiff, C., Adazu, K., & Smith, D. J. (2005). Urbanization and the fertility transition in Ghana. Population Research and Policy Review, 24(1), 59–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-005-0367-y
Willis, R. (1974). Economic theory of fertility behavior. In Economics of the family: Marriage, children, and human capital (pp. 25–80). University of Chicago Press. https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c2962/c2962.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.