VII. People in the census household
Only for women 15 years of age and older
[Questions 21 - 24 were asked of women age 15+ old]
23. Date of birth of last child
What was the date of birth of your last child born alive, even if he/she later died?
[] 0 Has not had children
[] [If any child born alive, write date of birth]
_ _ Day
_ _ Month
_ _Year
[] 9 Unknown
E. Fifth block: fertility and mortality characteristics (for all women 15 years of age and older)
Questions 21-24 are designed to obtain information to allow estimations of levels and trends in fertility, mortality, and population growth.
The adequate investigation of this question requires that the enumerator be delicate and extremely diligent in the request for information. Questions 21-24 should be presented to all women 15 years of age and older, irrespective of their marital status. If possible, these questions should be presented directly to each woman. Women sometimes forget to declare children born alive who have passed away, children who are alive but living in another place of residence, and also newborns. This should be kept in mind to avoid omissions.
It has been verified that certain enumerators suppose that unmarried women do not have children and therefore do not present the pertinent questions to them. This is inadequate and leads to the collection of poor quality data.
Question 23: date of birth of last child
This question is presented to all women 15 years of age and older, irrespective of their marital status.
1. How to formulate the question
On what date was your last child born, even if passed away thereafter?
2. How to record the data
The day, month, and year of birth of the last child born alive is recorded in the spaces provided.
If the informant does not know the date of birth of the last child born alive, the enumerator should do everything possible to find out at least the month and year of birth or, as a last resort, the year of birth. When the date of birth is unknown, the category "99. unknown" is marked.
If the enumerated woman has not had any children born alive, the number "0. has not had children" is marked.
3. Example:
[These instructions refer to a graphic of question 23 of the census form]