Autonomy in the reproductive health of quilombolas women and associated factors

Abstract

Objective: Identify the level of reproductive autonomy of quilombola women and associate it with sociodemographic characteristics and aspects of sexual and reproductive health. Methods: Cross-sectional census study carried out in quilombola communities in a municipality in Bahia. Data was collected through questionnaires from the National Health Survey and the Reproductive Autonomy Scale, applied to quilombola women who agreed to participate. Descriptive statistics procedures were used and associations were made between reproductive autonomy scores and sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics. Results: The average total score for reproductive autonomy was 2.06. An association was found between the “decision-making” score and marital status. The score for “total reproductive autonomy” was associated with the use of contraceptive method. Conclusion: The reality of the study participants converges with the literature regarding the interference of sociodemographic and reproductive factors in the reproductive autonomy of black women.

Association between rural workers’ sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics and their reproductive autonomy

“…The importance of women participating in reproductive planning groups for the time of reproductive decision was observed in the question "If you became pregnant but it was unplanned, who would have the most say -about whether you would raise the child, seek adoptive parents, or have an abortion", proving to be relevant when compared to those who did not participate in these groups, reinforcing the importance of women's participation in educational actions promoted by health services (29) . In another study, the simple discussion about reproductive coercion in reproductive planning groups resulted in a 60% probability of minimizing the risk of partner interference on women's reproductive autonomy (10) .…”

“…Considering these results, we can perceive that the rural women in this study are able to exercise their empowerment focused on reproductive decisions, freeing themselves from the undue influence of their partner. This effect can be seen as an advance, as rural women are part of a system marked by patriarchy and seen more likely to experience less reproductive autonomy when compared to their partner (10) .…”

“…In the case of reproductive decisions, women with unfavorable social conditions are more likely to experience limitations on their reproductive autonomy than women with better social and financial conditions (10) . Considering that a portion of rural women are part of a population in unfavorable social conditions and that may compromise their reproductive autonomy, we hypothesize that sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics may be associated with women's reproductive autonomy.…”

“…Although international studies on reproductive autonomy are found, the relevance of this research is also due to the scarcity of national studies using this theme, as only five Brazilian articles (9)(10)(12)(13)(14) were found. Thus, the study has as research question: are rural workers' sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics associated with their reproductive autonomy?…”

Autonomia Reprodutiva Entre Mulheres: Uma Revisão Integrativa Da Literatura

“…Fernandes et al (4,12) envolvendo mulheres De forma geral, tais pontos reforçam a importância de considerar as questões supracitadas no meio rural, porquanto, tradicionalmente este é construído por normas culturais e sociais que favorecem a exclusividade masculina na tomada de decisões, retratando a questão de gênero marcada pela ideologia patriarcal, desigualdade de gênero e poder (20) , o que resulta em mulheres sem autonomia para tomar suas próprias decisões, inclusive reprodutivas (18) .…”