Recent fertility decline in Dariusleut Hutterites: an extension of Eaton and Mayer's Hutterite fertility study.

A church book that has been routinely updated by the Dariusleut Hutterites [in the United States] enabled us to update some fertility tables presented by Eaton and Mayer in the 1950s. The age-specific (nuptial) fertility rates and the total fertility rates (TFRs) were calculated for every 5-year period from 1901-1905 to 1981-1985. Our calculations for Dariusleut one of the three sects of the Hutterites gave slightly lower age-specific nuptial fertility rates before 1951 compared with the figures given by Eaton and Mayer (1953) for all Hutterites in the corresponding time periods. The recent decline in Hutterite fertility especially at higher maternal ages was confirmed in this study. (EXCERPT)