Social aspects of reproductive health among the female population in Russia
The article is devoted to the analysis of reproductive health among Russian women of childbearing age as one of the main components of population’s health and demographic development of Russia. The aim of the article is to assess the most important indicators of women’s reproductive health in Russia, such as the sickness rate preceding and during the pregnancy, the level of infertility, the prevalence of abortions and its dynamics, infant, perinatal and maternal mortality. Artificial termination of pregnancy is considered as the main indicator of reproductive health. Noting the positive trend in reducing the number of abortions, the author shows the differences in this indicator between Russia and other developed countries with a similar legislation on abortion. The article also touches the dynamics of infant and maternal mortality, and the problem of infertility. The author notes that it is necessary to predict, diagnose and correct the reproductive health of women of childbearing age by improving the culture of health with the aim of increasing the reproductive potential of the population of Russia. The empirical base is the data of the Federal State Statistics Service, the Public Opinion Foundation, the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center and the World Health Organization concerning the reproductive health of Russian women. This article will be of interest to specialists in the field of the sociology of medicine, the sociology of the family and demography, as well as readers interested in the social aspects of reproductive health in Russia. The materials of the article will be useful for healthcare professionals, social workers, sociological and demographic community, university students.