Traditional supports and contemporary disrupters of high fertility desires in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

In sub-Saharan Africa, both men and women continue to desire large numbers of children in contrast to most regions of the world where the desired number of children is near or below replacement level (around 2.0 children per couple). We conducted a comprehensive review of the existing research on the sources and drivers of the persistently high desired fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on the review, 258 studies were included in this analysis. Several factors that influence fertility desires among men and women in this population were identified. We categorized them as either traditional supports (factors that have historically supported and promoted high fertility desires) or contemporary disrupters (factors that have more recently inhibited or discouraged high fertility desires). Although fertility desires are shaped by a wide range of factors that vary based on specific country and population, several overarching conclusions were clear. Contemporary changes in the economy and family have caused individuals to shift their fertility desires downward, and this shift is often viewed as a temporary adjustment to temporary conditions. Increased autonomy and formal schooling of women and availability of family planning can help position women to implement lower fertility desires. There is a need for more longitudinal research in this region to better understand how fertility desires may change over a person’s life, and for more qualitative studies that allow people to describe and explain their lives and fertility desires more directly in ways that allow for uncertainty and ambiguity.