Family planning and maternal and child care in present-day society
Safonova, T.Ia.
Sovetskoe Zdravookhranenie 1991(9): 48-52
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0038-5239 PMID: 1785071 Document Number: 321304
The Soviet research on infant mortality indicated that short birth intervals (less than 1.5 years) and high birth orders seemed to pose a high mortality risk to children in the 1st year of life; the risk of premature birth was almost twice as high. Some data also showed that in a region of Uzbekistan 35.5% of urban and up to 56.7% of rural child mortality under 1 was in families with many children. 16-25% of women in rural areas of the Central Asian republics give birth twice a year, i.e., the intergenetical interval is less than 1 year. Pregnancy and birth complications occur in 66% of multiparous women in Uzbekistan. In 20.7% of young Turkmen women pregnancy occurs during the 1st 3 months after the death of a child during the perinatal period. Induced abortion sometimes leads to irreversible infertility and to benign and malignant diseases of the breast and the reproductive system. Premature birth is 1.7-2.5 times more likely among women whose 1st pregnancy ended in abortion or who have had 3 or more induced abortions. In 1989 the number of abortions/1000 women of reproductive age was 99.8. Every 5th abortion that occurred in primigravidas 17 was outside of hospitals. In Central Russia, Estonia, and Georgia women under 35 want about 2 children. In Central Asia and Kazakhstan 6-7 children/family is the rule. 15-45% of pregnancies were unplanned in these republics. 27% of multiparous mothers in Kazakhstan use contraceptives. In young Turkmen families contraceptive prevalence was 29.8%. In Russia 69.5% of married women aged 25-35 are in need of contraceptives. 24-27% of girls aged 15-19 in Moscow had sexual experience, and 41.9% among college students. The average age of starting sex was 16.4 years among female students. Abortions occur in 15-21% in the 15-19 age group. Complications after abortion occur in 59.4% of teenagers including depression in 9.1% of them.