Questionnaire Text

Questionnaire form view entire document:  text  image

18. How many children born alive did you have?

Total children born alive:

[] 00 None
____ Number
[] 99 Unknown
Questionnaire instructions view entire document:  text  image

Fertility characteristics
Questions (18, 19, 20, and 21) included under this title are designed to provide information to carry out studies on the fertility level of the population and on the differential characteristics of this component of population growth.

These questions are also designed to obtain information to carry out studies on the level and past tendencies of the mortality of the country's population.

The adequate investigation of such important topics requires that the enumerator be delicate and extremely diligent. Questions 18 and 19 are presented to every woman age 15 or older. Question 20 and 21 are presented to women ages 15 to 49.


Question #18: Total number of children born alive
This question is presented to all women age 15 or older, irrespective of marital status.

a. How to ask the question:
How many children born alive has the person had?

The following definition should be remembered when asking this question:

Born alive: A child who breathed, cried, or moved at birth. If any of these signs of life were present and the child later passed away, it is counted as a child born alive and therefore


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should be recorded on the census form. If the child did not show any of the previously mentioned signs, it is considered to be a child born dead.

b. How to record the information:
Before recording the answer, it should be verified that no child born alive has been omitted and that no child born dead included. For this purpose the definition of "Child born alive" has been provided.

Enumerated women frequently forget to declare children born alive that passed away during the first hours, days, or months of life. Because of this, as many additional questions as deemed necessary should be asked until the correct information has been obtained.

Given the above warnings, the number of children born alive is recorded above the space provided after the word "Number___".

If the enumerated woman has not had any children born alive, the box labeled "none___ 00" is marked.

The box "Unknown ___99" is only marked if the informant does not know the number of the enumerated woman's children born alive. These cases should be exceptions.

c. Examples:


[These instructions refer to a graph of question 18 on the census form]