Gender, culture and reproductive decision-making among recent Mexican migrants in California

Abstract

This study of the experiences of recent Mexican immigrants living in California explores the changing perceptions of sexual and societal norms, including gender roles and resulting reproductive decision-making, that appear to accompany the migration process. These norms are compared to those held by migrants' families of origin in Mexico. We analysed 44 semi-structured interviews conducted with a client-based population in order to identify reproductive perceptions and practices that appear to be influenced by recent migration. Using a grounded theory approach, 26 women and 18 men's narratives were analysed to understand the complexity of changing expectations and resulting reproductive health practises. The social marginalisation and isolation of immigrants' experiences, the challenges of new socio-economic factors and access to health services appear to reshape views on reproductive decisions. While traditional gender roles and large families remain a spoken ideal, in practice these reproductive patterns are changing. Our analysis suggests that the migration process does alter relationships, reproductive decisions and contraceptive use among recent Mexican immigrants. The public health goal should be to provide an array of accessible and affordable services, tailored to the needs of this increasingly larger population of recent Mexican migrants in California and throughout the USA.

Gender, masculinity and migration: Mexican men and reproductive health in the Californian context

“…Confirming other studies, we found that condom use in this study was not popular, and high rates of STIs among Latino men in California indicate that condom use in this population is likely low (Organista et al 1997;Sanchez et al 2004;Solorio, Currier, and Cunningham 2004;Maternowska et al 2009). An unintended pregnancy was not always viewed negatively, especially for single men.…”

Exploring how residential mobility and migration influences teenage pregnancy in five rural communities in California: youth and adult perceptions

“…In some instances, more traditional norms may act as a protective factor by providing adult supervision and discouraging sexual activity, while in other instances, more acculturated young people may be protected by being more likely to have the language skills and motivation necessary to access and use contraception. The literature on Latina migrants in California suggests that traditional gender norms and dating practices, as well as the ideals of a larger family size, all contribute to early childbearing and lack of contraceptive knowledge and use among migrant youth Maternowska et al 2010;Minnis et al 2013).…”

Listening to Immigrant Latino Men in Rural Oregon

“…Examining the sexual and reproductive health needs of immigrant Latino men through this cultural lens may be critically important for improving access and use of SRHS (Diaz, 1998;B. V. Marin, 2003;Maternowska et al, 2010).…”

“…Several studies have identified factors that affect Latino immigrants' access to and utilization of health care services including the high cost of services (Kalmuss & Austrian, 2010;Maternowska et al, 2010;Peak, Gast, & Ahlstrom, 2010), the lack of health insurance (Cristancho, Garces, Peters, & Mueller, 2008;Kalmuss & Austrian, 2010;Peak et al, 2010), communication difficulties (Cristancho et al, 2008;Holbert, Rumptz, & Drach, 2009;Peak et al, 2010;Rhodes et al, 2007), fears of discrimination and stigma (Bowden, Rhodes, Wilkin, & Jolly, 2006;Holbert et al, 2009;Kalmuss & Austrian, 2010;Maternowska et al, 2010;Rhodes et al, 2007), the lack of time to seek services (Holbert et al, 2009), the prevalence of misinformation (Rhodes et al, 2007), and lack of knowledge about available services (Bowden et al, 2006;Holbert et al, 2009;Rhodes et al, 2007). Few studies have specifically examined the challenges to serving immigrant Latino men's SRHS needs.…”