Fertility Change in Central Asia: How Marriage Timing & Contraceptive Use are Evolving in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.

Abstract

Kyrgyzstan has undergone great societal change since gaining independence from the USSR in 1991. While government and economic shifts have affected many aspects of daily life, what effect have policy changes had on family formation and family planning trends, if any at all? Using two nationally representative datasets, I discovered that women in Kyrgyzstan who came of age during the transition entered marriage earlier than previous cohorts. This unusual pattern holds across diverse populations, and runs counter to worldwide marriage trends. While this fluctuation might suggest a societal shift toward more traditional ideals, it coincided with a significant influx of foreign development support for health reform and family planning services, among other programs. While abortion was a primary method of fertility control until 1991, the adoption of modern contraceptive methods has occurred rapidly across Kyrgyzstan. Over half of the women surveyed are employing a modern method and a woman’s location of residence, age at marriage and parity are the strongest predictors of use. Additionally, I found that unlike research from India and Pakistan, inclusion in traditional, co-residing family structures had little influence on the likelihood of use. I believe factors such as a highly educated populace, depressed economic conditions and declining fertility norms facilitated the rapid acceptance and adoption of modern methods. Yet, when considered in the context of shifting marriage trends, Kyrgyzstan represents an unusual and important case. Contrary to standard patterns in which access to contraception is associated with marriage and childbearing delays, we witness the reverse in Kyrgyzstan, at least temporarily. Such findings demand further investigation to determine if the case of Kyrgyzstan is distinct or portends the potential for change in other post-soviet settings.