The narrative that says poor women have more babies because they are 'jaahil' is maddening. Poor women have more babies because historically a large number of their kids didn't survive, because kids help with work, & because having sons in particular is a source of status. 1

Hence, having more kids is logical. The only way this can change is through better health services, decent wages for working adults, access to quality education, & a change in patriarchal mindsets. When the cost of having more kids outweigh the benefits, things start to change. 2

Look at Bangladesh. When it was part of Pakistan, there was little progress as the focus was only on contraception. Since then, the focus has been more on overall health. The rate of women's employment has also gone up, so now their birth rate is 2 while Pakistan is around 3.5. 3

Another important aspect, brought up here, is the importance of involving men in any strategy. As many have pointed out, women's decision-making is highly constrained. Hence having men on board & fostering joint informed choices is really important. 4 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2016.1205731