PIP: With a population of 6.2 million, Haiti is one of the poorest, most densely populated countries in the Caribbean. According to a 1983 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey, fertility averages 6.2 children/woman compared with 6 children/woman in 1977. Moreover, the proportion of women in union practicing family planning declined from 14% in 1977 to 7% in 1983. Female sterilization increased slightly between 1977 and 1983, from 0.2 to 0.7% of women in union, but at the same time there were declines in the percentage of women using traditional methods such as withdrawal and rhythm as well as supply methods such as oral contraceptives and condoms. Concerns about health problems associated with use of the pill and the IUD were cited by many respondents in the 1983 survey as reasons for nonuse of modern methods. The increase in fertility has been created in part by a growing percentage of women in Haiti married or cohabitating. Of the 4321 respondents in the 1983 survey, 23% were married, 31% were cohabitating, and another 9% were in less stable unions. 10% of the formally married women and 7% of the women in noncohabitating unions used family planning compared with only 4% of cohabitating women. Women who had some secondary education were 2-3 times more likely to use contraception, while urban women had use rates twice those of rural residents. Another concern is the high infant mortality rate--107 deaths/1000 births in 1977--caused by poor sanitation and limited access to health services. 77% of Haitian mothers surveyed had given birth at home. 63% had received some prenatal care, but only 22% sought postnatal care. On the other hand, over 90% of the mothers breastfed their infants and over 80% of children over 5 years of age had been vaccinated against the major childhood diseases.^ieng