Fertility characteristics and related factors impacting on Syrian refugee women living in Istanbul

Abstract

Background: Women’s fertility characteristics are affected by many different factors. Aim: To gain an awareness of fertility characteristics of Syrian refugee women and the influential factors Methods: This study was planned as a cross-sectional study to determine the efficiency and related factors of Syrian refugees living in Istanbul. The survey of 300 refugee women applying Arabs who migrated to Turkey, Kurds, Turkmen and Yezidi origin they receive. Results: Average age of the women studied was 34.26 ± 10.15, 34.6% of the participants had not received any education, 37% had less than two-year inter-pregnancy interval, 58.6% have not received “Safe Motherhood” service, 43.6% have conceived their last child unwillingly. Women in the study group had in average 3±2,4 children and the number of children they wanted was 3±1,59. These values were substantially affected negatively by the women’s education level and positively by the income level. Yezidis had significantly more children than other ethnic groups and did not have a “religious ban” on voluntary abortion. Conclusion: It has been noted that fertility characteristics of refugee women who migrated to Turkey changed according to their ethnic backgrounds and were sustained in the country they migrated to. Along with harsh living conditions and insufficient access to health services the situation has been observed to pose serious risks on reproductive health.