Birth planning and sterilization in China

Sterilization is the most prevalent method of contraception in China. Appro ximately half of all women of reproductive age report that they or their hu sbands are sterilized. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Surve y we describe patterns of sterilization in eight Chinese provinces. With a discrete-time event history model we investigate the link between character istics of local birth planning policy and the risk of sterilization. After controlling for parity, the risk of sterilization is highest in communities where birth planning policy is least strong as measured by exceptions to t he one-child policy. These results suggest that couples with more flexibili ty in family building may have less control over contraceptive method use. Other factors affecting the risk of sterilization are a woman's age, parity , and whether or not she has a son. Our results emphasize the importance of taking into account multiple dimensions of reproductive behaviour when ass essing one-child policy changes.