PROBABILITY OF CONCEPTION, CONCEPTION DELAY, AND ESTIMATES OF FECUNDABILITY IN RURAL AND SEMIURBAN AREAS OF CERTAIN LATIN-AMERICAN COUNTRIES

From data collected in national fertility surveys in rural and semiurban areas of Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Peru, this paper analyzes for all noncontracepting women in sexual unions the probability of conceiving and conception delay by duration from the date of entry into unions. The similarity of the proportions conceiving and of estimates of fecundability among the 4 countries suggests the importance of biological factors. Though overall mean fecundabilities are somewhat low compared to other populations, this difference is largely due to the lower mean age at entry into unions rather than to lower age-specific fecundabilities.