1. Reproductive health links generations. The (health) experiences of one generation have implications for the next generation (dit proefschrift).
2. Quantitative analysis of survey data should be augmented by qualitative research to detect the causal mechanisms that underlie observable behaviour (dit proefschrift).
3. When compared with other Indian states, women in Kerala tend to marry at later ages, start reproduction soon after marriage, situate and space their births in reasonable intervals and stop childbearing at earlier ages (dit proefschrift).
4. In Kerala, the median age at first marriage is 19 years for women currently aged 20-49 years. The median age at sterilisation is 28 years for women currently aged 30-49 years. The effective (duration between marriage and sterilisation) and potential (duration between menarche and sterilisation) reproductive spans have declined considerably in Kerala, especially among younger women (dit proefschrift).
5. Women go for sterilisation soon after the birth of a child. About 73 per cent had their sterilisation within one month after the last birth (dit proefschrift).
6. Infant mortality rates have sharply declined in Kerala. Neonatal mortality accounted for about 70 per cent of infant deaths; hardly any reduction was observed in this share over different birth cohorts (dit proefschrift).
7. Although children born in Kerala are more likely to survive infancy and childhood, a significant proportion remains unhealthy in terms of comparatively poor nutritional status (dit proefschrift).
8. Enhancements in maternal reproductive behaviour and child survival in Kerala since the 1960s became evident long before the implementation of a nationally designed family planning programme. Such observed decline is primarily a result of social change and not population control measures. Ashish Bose summarised the social and demographic change in Kerala as an M model - the Matriarchal society, the Missionaries, the Marxists, Mobility and Migration and the Media (dit proefschrift).
9. Throughout the past three years, I had a great responsibility of taking care of 4,332 women belonging to 4,387 households in Kerala! The responsibility quadrupled with their 10,784 children and the concerns over their health.
10. Working on a dissertation reminded me of browsing the WWW. The more you search, the more it explores. Perplexed search takes time to save time. In PhD research, it is essential to maintain a focus throughout and to keep the research questions intact.
