Research has shown that childbearing preferences greatly contribute to high fertility rate and by extension the
low incidence of the development of female entrepreneurs. Consequently, this study examined the contribution
of 17 selected fertility determinants to the fertility of ever-married women in Awka town. The selected fertility
determinants are: age at first marriage, menopause, average length of breast feeding, coital frequency, still
birth, average length of birth spacing, educational level, religious denomination, value of a son, value of a
daughter, child labour, income, job classification, number of siblings, age at menarche, marriage type and age
at first birth. A survey research method was adopted for the study, while systematic sampling technique was
employed to generate data using questionnaire. The generated data were analysed using Principle Component
Analysis (PCA) and multiple regression. The PCA collapsed the 17 determinants into 5 components, while
multiple regression was used to determine the contributions of each of the 5 components to the fertility of the
ever-married women. The result showed that component one (comprising age at first marriage, age at menarche
and age at first birth) made the highest contribution to the variations. The study therefore recommends increase
in girl child education up to secondary school and higher institution levels, and increased and better
employment opportunities for women so as to militate against early marriage, early child bearing age and
consequently high fertility rate.