Intimate Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy in Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Ukraine (English)

Document Type

Working Papers

Publication Topic(s)

Fertility and Fertility Preferences, Gender, Domestic Violence

Country(s)

Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine

Language

English

Author(s)

Leyla Ismayilova and ICF Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA

Publication Date

December 2010

Publication ID

WP79

Abstract:

Objectives: The study examines the relationship between intimate partner violence and unintended pregnancy in three countries of the former Soviet Union, where abortions were safe, easily available to women, and often used as a form of birth control. Women who ever experienced physical or sexual violence from their partners showed consistently higher risks of unintended pregnancy across the three countries. After adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, lifetime contraceptive use, and previous use of abortions, the study found that women with a history of intimate partner violence demonstrated higher risks of their last pregnancy ending in abortion (aRRR=2.1, 95% CI=1.4, 3.2 in Azerbaijan and aRRR=1.6, 95% CI=1.1, 2.3 in Moldova) or in unwanted live birth (aRRR=4.8, 95% CI=1.8, 12.7 in Ukraine).