Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

56 | Fertility
Studies have shown that the death of a preceding child leads to a shorter birth interval than
when the preceding child survived. The median birth interval is four months shorter among births for
which the previous sibling is dead than among births in which the previous sibling is alive (25.1
months and 29.3 months, respectively). This difference in the birth intervals may be due to the desire
of parents to replace a dead child as well as the loss of the fertility-delaying effects of breastfeeding.
There are no marked differences in the median birth intervals by urban-rural residence,
education of mother or wealth status of households. However, the median birth interval is noticeably
higher in Covalima and Oecussi than in the other districts.
4.6 AGE AT FIRST BIRTH
The onset of childbearing at an early age has a major effect on the health of both mother and
child. It also lengthens the reproductive period, thereby increasing the level of fertility. Table 4.7
shows the median age at first birth and the percentage of women who gave birth by exact ages, by
five-year age cohorts.
Table 4.7 Age at first birth
Percentage of women age 15-49 who gave birth by exact ages, percentage who have never given birth, and
median age at first birth, according to current age, Timor-Leste 2009-10
Current age
Percentage who gave birth by exact age
15 18 20 22 25
Percentage
who have
never given
birth
Number of
women
Median age
at first birth
15-19 0.4 na na na na 94.3 3,144 a
20-24 0.7 8.8 24.4 na na 56.2 2,343 a
25-29 1.5 12.9 30.2 49.4 69.5 21.2 1,897 22.1
30-34 2.4 14.6 31.1 51.0 74.8 9.5 1,534 21.9
35-39 2.4 13.3 28.6 47.0 69.1 7.7 1,684 22.4
40-44 2.5 16.0 30.6 46.1 67.6 5.6 1,388 22.5
45-49 2.0 10.9 23.3 38.2 58.5 7.8 1,146 23.6
25-49 2.1 13.6 29.1 46.9 68.5 11.0 7,650 22.4
na = Not applicable
a = Omitted because less than 50 percent of women had a birth before reaching the beginning of the age
group
Childbearing begins early in Timor-Leste. The median age at first birth is 22.1 years for the
youngest cohort (age 25-29) of women for whom a median age can be computed, and the median age
varies between 21.9 among women age 30-34 and 23.6 years among women 45-49. Fourteen percent
of Timorese women have given birth before reaching age 18, while nearly half have had a birth by age
22. More than two-thirds of Timorese women have become mothers by age 25.
Table 4.8 shows the median age at first birth by background characteristics. The median age
at first birth is slightly higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The urban-rural difference is widest
among women age 45-49. The median age at first birth is lowest among women in Covalima (21.3
years) and highest among women in Baucau (24.0 years). It is higher among women with secondary
education than among women with no education.