Fertility Among Young Women in Mexico: New Evidence About the Role of Abortion From a National Survey

Biani Saavedra , Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE)
Raffaela Schiavon, Ipas
Blair G. Darney, Oregon Health & Science University

To test the association between history of abortion and total live births by age 24 in Mexico. We used the National Survey of Adolescent Pregnancy Factors (ENFaDEA), a nationally representative survey of women 20-24 years old. We used logistic regression to identify factors associated with having an abortion in the first pregnancy, and to test the association between abortion experience and number of live births. 19.6% of the women reported an abortion. Women living with their parents or with a partner with higher educational level had larger odds of having an abortion. Compared with women who never had an abortion, women who reported an abortion in the first pregnancy had lower odds of having one or more children by 24 years. Abortion appears to be an important mean to limit early fertility, especially when it ends a first reproductive experience among adolescents and young women.

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 Presented in Session 1. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior, & Reproductive Health 1