Correlates of Modern Contraceptive Usage in Russia

Jamie L. Trevitt, Johns Hopkins University

Low contraceptive prevalence in Russia is due in part to access, supply, and cost issues; however, the Soviet legacy of “abortion culture” has also played a major role. Despite increasing access to modern methods of contraception through the market economy in the 1990s and early 2000s, it is unclear if some women use abortion as a form of birth control rather than as a last resort. This paper expands on the limited literature regarding contraception in the Russian Federation by exploring correlates of modern contraception usage including the number of previous abortions a woman has had. The results show that the relationship between number of previous abortions and modern contraceptive usage is not uniform. Women who have had 1-3 abortions are more likely to contracept using a modern form of contraception than women who have never had an abortion or women who have had 4 or more abortions.