Belize is one of the countries in Latin America that was not included in the World Fertility Survey, the Contraceptive Prevalence Survey project, or the Demographic and Health Survey program during the 1970's and 1980's. As a result, data on contraceptive prevalence and the use of maternal and child health services in Belize has been limited. The 1991 Family Health Survey was designed to provide health professionals and international donors with data to assess infant and child mortality, fertility, and the use of family planning and health services in Belize. The objectives of the 1991 Family Health Survey were to: obtain national fertility estimates; estimate levels of infant and child mortality; estimate the percentage of mothers who breastfed their last child and duration of breastfeeding; determine levels of knowledge and current use of contraceptives for a variety of social and demographic background variables and to determine the source where users obtain the methods they use; determine reasons for nonuse of contraception and estimate the percentage of women who are at risk of an unplanned pregnancy and, thus, in need of family planning services; and examine the use of maternal and child health services and immunization levels for children less than 5 years of age and to examine the prevalence and treatment of diarrhea and acute respiratory infections among these children.
