The Demographic and Health Survey Phase 8 (DHS-8): Future Fertility Preferences includes 4 items from the Women's Questionnaire capturing number of children desired (by woman and by her husband/partner) and preferred length of time between births. Navigational aspects (i.e. skip-out patterns and next question sequences) have not been included on this page but can be viewed on the original questionnaire located here.
Geographies Tested: Afghanistan,Angola,Burkina Faso,Cambodia,Cameroon,Cote d'Ivoire,Ethiopia,Ghana,Guatemala,Guinea,Kenya,Madagascar,Mozambique,Myanmar (Burma),Nepal,Rwanda,Senegal,The Gambia,Zimbabwe
Populations Included: Female
Age Range: Adolescents, Adults
1. Now I have some questions about the future. Would you like to have (aanother) child, or would you prefer not to have any (more) children?
Response Options:
Have (aanother) child
No morenone
Says she can’t get pregnant
Undecideddon’t know
2. How long would you like to wait from now before the birth of (aanother) child? OR
After the birth of the child you are expecting now, how long would you like to wait before the birth of another child?
Response Options:
2-digit numeric ( ____ Months)
2-digit numeric ( ____ Years)
Soonnow
Says she can’t get pregnant
After marriage
Other (Additionally, specify in text)
Don’t know
3. If you could go back to the time you did not have any children and could choose exactly the number of children to have in your whole life, how many would that be? OR
If you could choose exactly the number of children to have in your whole life, how many would that be?
Response Options:
2-digit numeric (_ __)
Other (Additionally, specify in text)
4. Does your (husbandpartner) want the same number of children that you want, or does he want more or fewer than you want?
Response Options:
Same number
More children
Fewer children
Don’t know
Not Applicable
Demographic and Health Surveys (2019). Demographic and Health Surveys: Women's Questionnaire. https://dhsprogram.com/publications/publication-DHSQ8-DHS-Questionnaires-and-Manuals.cfm
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