Mother-in-Law Co-Residence and Fertility in Egypt

Daesha Ramachandran, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Andrew C. Stokes, University of Pennsylvania
Omaima El Gibaly, Assiut University
David Bishai, Johns Hopkins University

Evidence from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Algeria has supported the hypothesis that mothers in law have a pronatalist influence; however, due to the increase in chronic disability among older adults as well as growing trends in circular migration patterns among men seeking work in urban centers, co-residing in-laws may actually mitigate the effect of the extended family on both desired family size and fertility. In this study we aim to establish whether a co-residing mother-in law alters fertility and the length of closed birth intervals. Using the 2006 Egyptian and Labor Market Survey (ELMS) and the 2008 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), this study compares the parity progression of women with and without co-resident mother in laws. A Cox proportional hazards model is used to identify the effect of mother-in-law coresidence on parity progression.