Abstract : It is concluded that, during Brazil's rapid government-induced modernization, fertility declined. The reasons were increased motivation to control fertility and the indirect effects of institutional changes in health and social security. Social changes in institutions were introduced by the military regime in the mid-1960s. Mass media also influenced social behavior. There were high abortion and sterilization rates. These methods were used because of the interplay of attitudes, policies, and changing agendas of key power brokers that limited availability of other effective contraception. Fertility decline is also attributed to rapid urbanization, which catalyzed other factors. The Brazilian government never had fertility control policies or population targets. The population control establishment had an important indirect influence by spreading awareness of the advantages of small family size and by establishing a climate conducive to fertility control. It is posited that Brazilian fertility decline illustrates that "indirect impacts and unintended consequences" in the context of rapid social change can bring about fertility decline. One caveat is that serious negative health consequences are possible when access to a wide variety of contraceptive methods is limited. Less researched areas which affected motivation for birth control are identified as changes in gender relations, marital patterns, intergenerational transfers of resources, labor force participation, household composition, and urbanization. This article reviews the literature on fertility decline as it is related to 1) proximate determinants, 2) key social actors (the government, the Catholic Church, women's groups, the international population lobby and local representatives, and health professionals), 3) modernization and socioeconomic factors, 4) economic pressure, inequalities, and poverty, 5) "proximate structural determinants of fertility," and 6) the urban transition.
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