Contraception and abortion in a low-fertility setting: the role of seasonal migration

Abstract

CONTEXT: Seasonal labor migration is common among men in many former Soviet republics. Little research has examined contraceptive use and induced abortion among women in such low-fertility, high-migration settings, according to husband’s migration status. METHODS: Combined data from 2,280 respondents of two surveys of married women aged 18–45 in rural Armenia—one conducted in 2005 and one in 2007—were used. Logistic regression analyses examined whether a husband’s migration status was associated with his wife’s current use of the pill or the IUD, or with the probability that she had had a pregnancy that ended in induced abortion. Additional analyses were conducted to determine whether relationships were moderated by household wealth. RESULTS: Women with a migrant husband were less likely than those with a nonmigrant husband to be currently using the pill or the IUD (odds ratio, 0.6); with increased household wealth, the likelihood of method use increased among women with a nonmigrant husband, but decreased slightly among women with a migrant husband. Overall, the probability that a pregnancy ended in abortion did not differ by migration status; however, the likelihood of abortion increased with wealth among women married to a nonmigrant, but not among those married to a migrant. CONCLUSIONS: Despite their husband’s absence, women married to a migrant may have an unwanted pregnancy rate similar to that of women married to a nonmigrant. Improved access to modern contraceptive methods is likely to be positively associated with contraceptive use among women with a nonmigrant husband, but not among those with a migrant husband.