In this paper we discuss the causes of non-adherence to reversible contraceptives, especially hormonal methods, among women in rural Santarém in the Brazilian Amazon. The analysis is based on questionnaires with 398 women and visits to health centers. We consider the motives reported by women who: never used contraception; used some method in the past; and who at the time of the survey were using a different method from the ones they used in the past. The results indicate a rejection of hormonal contraception and a preference for female sterilization, an option possibly influenced by the characteristics of health services in the region. The side effects of hormonal contraceptive use reported by part of the interviewees contribute to a generalized fear of the side effects even among women who have never used such methods. To improve women's health services in the Amazon, we recommend further studies of the relationship between reported side effects and available services and prescriptions, as well as an analysis of women's discourse and perceptions.
In the past 40 years, Brazil has experienced rapid fertility decline, where the number of children per woman (i.e., total fertility rate) has dropped sharply from 6.0 in the 1960s to 2.3 in the late 1990s.What makes Brazil's fertility decline particularly interesting is its strong reliance on a nonreversible method of contraception: tubal ligation, here referred to as female sterilization. As recently as 1996, the country led the world in recorded rates of female sterilization. This practice is so pervasive and dominant that among some Brazilian scholars it has come to be called the surgical transition rather than the fertility transition. In this paper, we discuss the prevalence of female sterilization and other contraceptive methods among rural women of the Lower Amazon. The use of reversible (e.g., the pill, condoms) and irreversible (sterilization) methods is analyzed in terms of women's birth cohorts and in terms of their individual characteristics. We argue that to understand contraceptive choices we need to consider the social and cultural context, particularly the availability of local health services, the influence of doctors and politicians, as well as women's own goals for themselves and their children.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.