Bangladesh has a mobile labor force, supplying both internal and international migrant workers.
Approximately 12% of currently married women report their husband lives elsewhere; between 40-77%
of migrating husbands return to the household at least once per year. Spousal separation due to repeat
seasonal migration among men on this scale has the potential to influence fertility and contraceptive
prevalence rates and the reproductive behavior of affected couples. This study complements quantitative
Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data with qualitative in–depth interviews among a sub-sample of
DHS respondents whose husbands usually stay elsewhere but return at least once a year in the division of
Barisal, Bangladesh. The study explores how husbands’ migration patterns influence couple fertility
intentions, contraceptive decision-making and behavior, and the experience and resolution of unintended
pregnancies in this population.