Ethnic differences in results of fertility and mother’s health care: Portuguese population and Cape Verdeans living in Portugal

Abstract

This paper pursues a comparison between sociographic profiles and birthcare conditions related to the Portuguese and Cape Verdean mothers living in Portugal, considering the cultural and ethnic variables as determinants to possible distinctions. Based on the live birth Survey, the Fertility Survey results and the Population Census (official statistics produced by the National Statistics Institute), a statistical analysis was performed, namely, a K-means Cluster Analysis and a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). We adopted a longitudinal and comparative perspective in the 1995-2013 period. Furthermore, a synchronic analysis approach has been underlined, thoroughly exploring the database of entries of live births for the year 2013. Despite the fertility rate being lower in the Portuguese population, there is a tendency for convergence between the fertility patterns of both populations, which reveals a porosity of the the Cape Verdean population by incorporating a different fertility model from the one that exists in their country of origin. Fertility occurs later in the Portuguese women compared with the Cape Verdeans. Differences were also observed in both populations, regarding the sociographic profiles, the birthcare conditions and, finally, the marital status and family structure.