Algunos aspectos de la natalidad en el Ecuador

Abstract

1. An analysis of the data contained in the 1954 Vital Statistics Annual (Anuario de Estadísticas Vitales de 1954) affords, for the first time, true birth rate figures for Ecuador, since they are based on the number of births rather than on the registrations during a given year

2. In 1954 the birth rate in Ecuador was 43.9 per thousand inhabitants. From 1921 to 1953 the rates have ranged from 53.8 to 45.7 per thousand inhabitants. Such high birth rates are very characteristic of a young country such as Ecuador, with 42.45 percent of the population under 15 years of age, and 88.73 percent under 50 years

3. The birth rate for illegitimate children in Ecuador is one third of the total number of births; but in the coastal areas it is 57 per cent, whereas in the highlands it is only 14.2 percent

4. Only 1.7 percent of the births occur with professional care. This figure rises to 25.06 percent in urban areas but drops to 0.46 percent in rural areas

5. Of the live births, 8.27 percent take place in hospitals, the percentage rising to 17.41 in urban areas and dropping to 0.26 in rural areas. This indicates the need for the establishment of rural health centers with home-delivery services

6. Fertility in Ecuadorian women is very high and intervals between pregnancies are minimal. These factors most certainly have an unfavorable influence on maternal and child...(AU)