They don’t want to have a child, but they refuse to use contraceptives. why?

Research conducted in Armenia in recent years shows that the desire of couples to have children is decreasing, while their level of awareness about modern contraceptives is not increasing. The reasons are many, starting from the socio-economic difficulties of the family, emigration and financial instability, ending with the mental and/or physical health and personal problems of the couples. Especially after the 44-day war, this issue has become more relevant.

According to the recently published “Prevalence of Infertility in the Population of the Republic of Armenia” research, 86% of women and 81% of men who have ever had sex either do not plan to have children or do not plan to have children in the near future. At the same time, 36% of women and 48% of men consider that they have fewer children than planned.

Age, financial difficulties, health problems, etc. are among the main reasons for not wanting to have children among women and men. 85% of female respondents and 40% of male respondents who cited age as a reason for not wanting to have children are from the 40-49 age group.

About half of the female and male respondents who mentioned financial difficulties as a reason for not wanting to have a child stated that the average monthly income of their family is 150 thousand AMD, 43% – 150 – 300 thousand AMD, the rest – higher.

According to the results of the same survey, 50% of female respondents and 54% of male respondents have never used modern contraceptives.

54% of female respondents have never sought an abortion. The main reasons for not seeking an abortion are: not having an unwanted pregnancy, conflicting with values and religious beliefs.

For the respondents, the common motivations for abortions are health/life threatening, financial difficulties, having the desired number of children, planning a later child, etc. Most recent abortions have occurred in maternity/hospital and medical facilities. About 92% of terminations were performed by obstetrician-gynecologists, in 5.7% of cases women terminated the pregnancy by themselves.

According to the authors of the study, taking into account the fact that abortion is still used as a method of family planning, it is necessary to take steps to educate the population, especially young people, about healthy and competent sexual behavior, avoiding unwanted pregnancies and the desirability of every pregnancy. It is emphasized that it is necessary to increase the awareness of women and men about the effectiveness of modern contraceptives, as well as the negative consequences of self-termination of pregnancies.

Generalizing the above, we should note that broad public awareness campaigns about modern contraceptive methods can significantly reduce the probability of abortion, preventing the spread of reproductive health problems among the population.

Full text in Armenian