Childhood Origins, Migration, and First Modern Contraceptive Use in Turkey

This paper integrates contraception into the extant migrant-fertility framework using the case of internal migration within Turkey. Drawing from the 2013 Turkish Demographic and Health Survey data, we show that migration is positively associated with age of first modern contraceptive use. As women's migration is quickly followed by family formation, women also take up modern contraception after first childbirth, likely due to new encounters with medical professionals, differing contraceptive access and other social exposures. We also find that women whose childhoods were spent in urban areas have a higher risk of first modern contraception relative to women from rural areas, thus suggesting the enduring importance of socialization. These results show how selection processes, life-cycle factors, and sociocultural norms jointly shape modern contraceptive behavior in Turkey. Our results also demonstrate a need for increased reproductive care in rural areas and suggest continued fertility decline with urban migration.