Cross-national variations in birth control of Europeans: divergence or convergence?

Jirina Kocourková, Charles University in Prague

In the late 1980s the East-West division by birth control was identified in Europe as the characteristics of women who had abortions differed sharply between the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. In the Eastern European countries abortion rates were high and abortion was used to limit family size once certain parity had been reached .Thus it was requested by married women with two or more children. In Western European countries most women who had abortions were young, childless and unmarried. Since the early 1990s the incidence of abortions in Eastern European countries rapidly decreased although with different intensity. As a result, cross-national variations in abortion level have been reduced by 2009. Has the East-West division remained or has a new one emerged? Can we distinguish new patterns of abortion behaviour? What was the role of birth control method in transition of reproduction patterns? The relationship between the changes in abortion and contraceptive behaviour in EU countries was studied. 21 EU members were selected for comparative analysis. Cluster analysis of birth control indicators and multivariate statistical analysis of GGS data was used to give more detailed insight into current typology of birth control. Finally, factors behind the recent diversification were identified. The main results could be summed up as follows: The East-West divide has disappeared although the former Eastern and Western patterns have remained in some countries. The new “transitional” pattern has emerged. There is a pattern of convergence as regards trends towards lower abortion level, but a pattern of divergence as regards structure of abortions and use of modern contraception. The use of modern methods of contraception rather depends on structural macro-level factors and cultural traditions as the impact of individual characteristics on the use of contraception do not differ much between countries under study.