Article
“I don’t know if I have the courage” Reproductive Choices in Times of Zika
Journal of Human Growth and Development
(2019)
Abstract
In this transnational study, we aimed at providing insights into women’s views and attitudes towards
their reproductive rights during the Zika epidemic. Women of distinct nationalities and ethnicities were
recruited from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. We conducted semistructured
interviews that suggest that participants reproductive decisions were intimately related
to personal convictions and cultural beliefs, and their actions and thoughts were embedded in their
sociocultural norms. The majority of women interviewed communicated that it takes courage to make
the extreme, emotional, and overwhelming decision to have an abortion. The findings of this study
suggest that women from different countries and regions, and with different levels of social capital,
faced the same conflicts concerning reproductive decisions. Thus, we argue for the importance of
considering cultural beliefs and behaviors when implementing health prevention or protection measures
to control epidemics. This epidemic may be yet another opportunity for the improvement of women’s
health by strengthening culturally sensitive family planning services, and a broad spectrum of public
health interventions.
Keywords
- women,
- Zika,
- reproductive rights,
- abortion,
- reproductive choices
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring April, 2019
DOI
10.7322/jhgd.150807
Citation Information
Ana Rosa Linde, Grace Furtado, Elisa Tristán-Cheever and Carlos Eduardo Siqueira. "“I don’t know if I have the courage” Reproductive Choices in Times of Zika" Journal of Human Growth and Development Vol. 29 Iss. 1 (2019) p. 14 - 21 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/carlos_siqueira/48/
Creative Commons license
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