The 1994 ICPD-Cairo has called for greater gender equality in reproductive and contraceptive decisions. For married and cohabiting women, particularly those with little social and economic resources, and/or little decision-making power relative to male partners, exercising a personal contraceptive preference may be difficult if not impossible. A qualitative study was undertaken to better understand the process by which Mexican women achieve their personal contraceptive preferences vis à vis male partners, the possible role of male partners in this process, and the social context in which contraceptive decisions are made. In-depth interviews and community/participant observation, were conducted with 30 in-union women living in low-income neighborhoods in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Using a grounded theory methodology, “telling” her partner emerged as the primary strategy by which women attempted to actualize their contraceptive preference. Women’s use of the verb decir – to tell – indicated that “telling” was versatile, with several properties and conditions. Most women encountered little difficulty in realizing their contraceptive preferences in either a historical or current context; yet, this was not the case when women desired the use of male condoms or vasectomy. Reasons for these discrepancies are discussed, as are the sociocultural contexts of women’s lives, with a focus on the four most salient themes discussed - significance of the union, children, home, and sexual relations. These findings may help generate hypotheses about couple interactions with respect to contraceptive use and reproductive decision-making, especially in other Latin American contexts where gender-role ideologies are deeply imbedded in the social fabric.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session participants will be able to: 1. identify a specific psychosocial strategy (and its properties) used by Mexican women to negotiate contraceptive use with male partners - a strategy which could have implications for couples in other Latin American countries; 2. recognize the importance of social context to reproductive health themes as conceptualized in the post-ICPD/Cairo paradigm, as well as the value of incorporating qualitative methodologies to explore social context; and 3. articulate the procedure of the grounded theory methodology and its application in public health research
Keywords: Contraception, Gender
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: not applicable
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.