Timor-Leste Health Care Seeking Behaviour Study - Secretaria de ...

In the HSCBS survey, the ideal number of children most commonly reported by both women (25.4%)and men (19.9%) was four. Having 5 (women 14.7%, men 10.5 %) or 6 children (women 16.1%, men16.2%) were the next most common responses, but a significant proportion chose 7 or 8 as the idealnumber (women 19.3%, men 21.3%).The ideal time between children, according to both men and women, was 2 years. There were veryfew responses outside the range of 1-3 years, and 3 years was more commonly cited than one yearas the ‘ideal’ spacing (Figure 6, also Table 9 in Appendix 6).Figure 6 - Ideal time between children (HCSBS sample)Timor-Leste Health Care Seeking Behaviour Study | 2009In the HCSBS FGDs, among those participants who supported birth spacing, the ideal time betweenchildren was commonly mentioned as 3 years. The metaphor escada (ladder) was commonly used torefer to un-spaced children; 1 year apart, their decreasing heights are like the steps of a ladder.Many informants explained this in terms of infant development. For example, pregnancy should beavoided until the youngest child can feed itself with a spoon, walk unaided, has started school, or isable to help the mother with a newborn baby (e.g. fetching clothing or water). Some informantsused the mother’s health as a reference, i.e. she should wait until her body has regained its strengthand weight before becoming pregnant again.Survey respondents expressed a high level of interest in spacing children (women 67.8%, men68.9%). This could be facilitated by providing more information about family planning (responsegiven by 13.8% women and 17.7% men), greater availability of family planning methods (women22.3%, men 21.6%), and greater support from their spouse (women 38.9% women, men 31.9%).41