Past and present contraceptive behavior of new Soviet immigrant women in Israel.

ABSTRACT

PIP: In early 1992 in Israel, 117 recent Jewish immigrant women from Belarus, Russia, and the Ukraine completed a questionnaire designed to examine their past and current contraceptive behavior. The mean number of months in Israel was 2.7 months. The mean number of children among the 90 women with children was 1.74 (range 1-5). 58.1% of all 117 women had had at least one induced abortion. The mean number of induced abortions per woman was 2.7 (range 1-12). More than 40% of women who had had at least one induced abortion had at least 3 induced abortions. 104 women were or had been married, or had a steady partner. The most frequently used family planning methods in the past were oral contraceptives (OCs) (33.7%), safe days (24%), withdrawal (15.3%), and IUD (15.3%). Only 4% used condoms in the past. Current family planning methods used included IUD (23%), safe days (23%), withdrawal (18.3%), and condoms (13.5%). Only 2.9% currently used OCs. The mean number of methods currently used was 1.8. Reasons for not using contraception before immigration were: not safe (18%), reduced sexual pleasure (11%), not available (9%), no steady sexual partner (7%), and desire to conceive (5%). After immigration, reasons for not using contraception were too expensive (11%) (especially OCs) and not safe (9%). 84% preferred to use contraception rather than undergo an induced abortion. 62% wanted professional advise on contraception. These findings illustrate the need to provide new immigrant women from the Commonwealth of Independent States with accurate information about the health effects of various family planning methods.