Women empowerment and marital fertility in Oman.

International studies have the inverse relationship of women education and empowerment on fertility. Our aim is to study the association of women education and empowerment with some of fertility indicators or determinants namely; total number of children ever-born, age of women at her first birth and the last closed birth interval length in a community based survey (National Health Survey, 2000) A cross-sectional survey of the health status of Omani community was designed. Face to face interview to 2037 ever married women including demographic data, fertility patterns, family planning, two women empowerment indices (decision making and freedom of movement), and other reproductive health modules. About 31% of the sample was considered highly empowered in decision- making and the mean number of decisions taken in the household was 4.46 for the overall sample. For freedom of movement, 29% of the sample was highly empowered with a mean number of 3.88 for the overall sample. The mean values of both indices varied significantly according to age, residence, level of education and work status. Higher freedom of movement score women was more likely to have less number of children in the first 20 years of marriage. Women of 'higher score of decision making index were more likely to have longer closed birth interval. Those scored low in the decision making index were more likely to get a child at an earlier age. In developing countries where fertility limitation depend on "modern" methods, women's education and autonomy are considered as strong tools to make changes in demographic transition.