| |
Freedom of Choice
By Diepiriye S Kuku
WOMEN, FREEDOM OF CHOICE and CONTRACEPTION?
by Diepiriye S. Kuku-Siemons
In examining the issue of freedom of choice, several factors must be taken into account. An Indian woman's reproductive decisions are influenced by societal factors which include the social, political and economic context in which she lives and the gender norms that shape her life. Also to be taken into consideration is a woman's life cycle stage and other socio-demographic characteristics that govern her contraceptive use, her childbearing experience and the three domains of her life - family, community and individual.
The majority of women in India are married off at a young age, sometimes even before they are able to understand the bodily changes that accompany puberty. As soon as she is married, family members pressured her to prove her fertility by getting pregnant before the first year of her marriage has lapsed. In most cases, if her first issue is female, she is again subjected to great pressure to produce a male progeny. This vicious cycle of events hinders a woman from educating herself about contraceptive use, the choices available to her, the methods she can use to effectively space her children and how she can conserve her own health, maintain a balance between household chores and child-bearing and manage her various roles effectively to the satisfaction of her husband, in-laws, and herself.
Whether she is an urban woman or from a rural area, she is most likely unaware that she can seek advice from her doctor. This is mainly due to a lack of awareness since most government programmes and campaigns are run sporadically. Moreover, there is little involvement of private practitioners in educating/ counseling a woman on her reproductive health options.
Only a very limited number of Indian women have the opportunity to choose whether or when to have a child. Women, particularly women in rural areas, do not have access to safe and self-controlled methods of contraception. The public health system emphasizes permanent methods like sterilization, or long-term methods like IUD's that are provider dependent and require trained (health personnel). In fact, sterilization accounts for more than 75% of total contraception, with female sterilization accounting for almost 95% of all sterilizations. (Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, 2001)
The idea of contraception is that it should be seen as a pillar of reproductive health rather than a means of population stabilization. Ideally, it should include spacing, safety and the health of mother and child. Presently, a plethora of contraceptive methods that are available India, with newer options intermittently introduced. There are oral pills (both low dose combined oral contraceptives and progestin-only contraceptives), the DMPA injectable contraceptive (which is excellent for mid-term spacing),Norplant implants, Intrauterine Devices (IUD's), condoms, vaginal creams and spermicides, and terminal methods such as female sterilization and vasectomy. Users have a range of methods of contraceptives from which to choose. But the question is, 'Can they make an informed choice? 'This means, when a person makes a freely thought-out decision based on accurate, useful information, it is called informed choice. How many couples have access to such information?
There are multiple benefits from informed choices: People use contraceptives longer if they choose the methods for themselves; access to a range of methods makes it easier for users to choose a method they like and to switch to other methods whenever needed. What's more, this process initiates a trusting partnership between users and providers and enables individuals and families to take more responsibility for their own health.
To make informed choices, people need ample, easy to grasp information about methods of contraception. An informed choice requires access to a range of methods and support for individual choice from social policies and community practices. The outcome should be a free, informed, conscious decision by the individual about whether or not she or he desires to obtain contraceptive services, and if so, what method or procedure she or he will choose and consent to receive!
The solution lies in providing information on safe, effective and tested contraceptive methods that have been used successfully in countries throughout the world. It also means a concerted effort by medical practitioners in the public and private sectors to disseminate correct, comprehensive and user-friendly information to women in the child-bearing age about the contraceptive options available to them. It further requires greater male participation in matters of maternal health, spacing and contraception as well as respectful dialogue amongst partners. Finally, it means that limiting family size is not the only objective, rather, complete reproductive health should be the target - which includes safe pregnancy, the well-being of mother and child, spacing options which allow a woman to plan her family effectively, general gynecological care, protection from sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) and their proper diagnosis and treatment. An underlying factor is improvement of the quality of counseling services to help women understand their reproductive requirements.
The increasing number of abortions proxy as evidence of widespread unmet needs for contraceptive methods and their apparent unavailability or inaccessibility. Therefore, the need for more options is already imperative. Meeting these needs permits women to exercise their reproductive rights and choose appropriate options from a basket of contraceptive choices.
About the Author
Diepiriye S. Kuku-Siemons is a researcher/writer/consultant based in New Delhi, pursuing a PhD in Sociology focusing on urban sexuality and globalization. His primary areas of interest are Reproductive Health Justice and Public Health Communications.
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/author-articles/2352/1.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/author-articles/2352/1.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Diepiriye S Kuku | Heinous histories collide
Heinous Histories collide: Down but not Out. By, Diepiriye S. Kuku-Siemons Thalidomide was sold in the 1950s as a sleep ...
I'm actually feeling better
Urban chaos is what sums up a modern woman's life in metropolitan cities. Early morning household chores, children and elders in the family to attend to, preparing for ...
Reducing Maternal Mortality
Problem: Maternal Mortality
Solution: Empowering women to exercise their right to choose
Diepiriye. S. Kuku-Siemons
A recent UNFPA study on global population trends ...
I made the choice
On a hot afternoon in early September, we made our way to the clinic of Dr. Renu Singh Gehlot, a practicing gynaecologist, located at Panki Road, Kalyanpur, on the outskirts of Kanpur, close ...
The DMPA Advantage
1. How will this work in the Indian scenario, especially as women's groups are strongly against DMPA and other hormonal methods citing dangerous, ...
Choices for women-Safety and Health
The health of Indian women is intrinsically linked to their status in society. The Indian constitution grants women equal rights with men, ...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
