Abortion and contraception in a low fertility setting: the role of seasonal labor migration

Arusyak Sevoyan, Arizona State University
Victor Agadjanian, Arizona State University

Despite increased availability of contraception, abortion remains a primary form of fertility regulation in much of the former Soviet Union. At the same time, many of post-Soviet countries continue to have high levels of seasonal international labor migration. This study examines the role of male seasonal labor migration in shaping pregnancy outcomes among non-migrant women in rural Armenia, a high out-migration, high abortion, low contraception, and low fertility setting. Applying random intercept logistic regression we found that women married to migrants are less likely to use long-term contraception than women married to non-migrants. The findings also show that migrants’ partners are not significantly more likely to terminate their pregnancies through abortions than non-migrants’ partners. The lower use of contraception is probably leveled off by less frequent intercourse among migrants’ partners, leaving them with equal chances of having an unwanted pregnancy as non-migrants’ partners.