The man in his house : marriage, gender relation and childbearing in Ghana

This paper attempts to clarify the trend in the inverse relationship in increasing age at first marriage and simultaneously declining fertility rates generally in Ghana, using examples of two coastal Ghanaian communities - Brenu Akyinim(Central region) and Abuesi (Western region). Two sets of data used for this study include empirical data derived from the first round of the Diffusion of Fertility Behaviour Survey; and the second set of data is obtained from Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) conducted on four groups randomly selected from current cohorts of panel survey respondents homogenous by age and sex. Data analysis shows that changes in fertility rates are socially embedded; the mechanisms through which these occur are identified. The paper further provides an understanding of how the socio-economic power play in gender relations leads to particular fertility rate outcomes between the two villages. Of essence here is the role of marriage and stable unions. Our data further shows that there are significant differences in reproductive behaviour between the two villages, and it appears that economic activity bears the closest relationship to the differences observed.