Fertility and mortality rates among U.P. migrants of Ludhiana (Punjab)

Abstract

Fertility and mortality are the components of the population variation. A population is greatly influenced by the operation of these processes. For the stability of human population both fertility and mortality should go side by side. The demographers define fertility as the childbearing activity of a population where as in biology and medicine this term is generally used for capacity to bear children. Fertility being biological phenomena is influenced by a number of factors in the social environment. Fertility is determined by various biological factors e.g. age at menarche, age at menopause, age at marriage, breastfeeding and amenorrhea. Socioeconomic factors that influence fertility are education, status of women, sex preference, old age security, income and occupation and behavioral attitudes (contraceptive prevalence) of different populations. Mortality affects and influences both fertility as well as birth rate. It is also one of the factors which is responsible for influencing the health of mothers. Mortality is responsible for reduction in numbers. Mortality is usually measured in the form of neonatal, prenatal, infant and child mortality. The socioeconomic factors that influence mortality are education, occupation, household variables (income) and community level variables such as health practices and awareness of family planning methods. Human migration denotes any movement by human/s from one place to another, over short distances or sometimes over long distances individually or in large groups. People who migrate are called migrants. It is widely accepted that migrants act as source of social change and largely migrants are socioeconomically and educationally are better placed as compared to their natives populations. Migrant destinations are towns, cities and industrial zones where they have better chances to get work in factories, agro-processing plants or working as porters, domestic servants, bus-conductors, street, hawkers, and construction workers..