Abortions are still very common in St Petersburg, as is the use of unreliable contraceptives, despite the fact that sexual education reaches out to young people better than before. The social change is especially evident from the active sexual behaviour among young men.
The Reproductive Health and Fertility Patterns research consortium (REFER) of the Academy of Finland’s Russia in Flux research programme has produced two reports on women’s and young men’s reproductive health in St Petersburg, sexuality, families, living conditions and thoughts on having children. According to the questionnaire-based reports, health, family life and sexuality in St Petersburg are undergoing a change.
The nuclear family model with parents and children is becoming an ever more widespread model, even though families that have been extended with relatives are still common. Russian women normally give birth to one child, even if two children is still the ideal number. Every second mother in St Petersburg breastfeeds for over five months and only a small percentage do not breastfeed at all. A majority of women have experienced some sort of health problems and one in ten are very dissatisfied with their health. One in five women have experienced unintended infertility, but very few had decided to undergo tests or expensive treatment.
Abortion Still Used As a Means to Contraception