The Stigma of Reproductive Health Services Utilization by Unmarried Women

BACKGROUND: Fear of the stigma associated with reproductive health services has always been one of the reasons why youth and unmarried individuals avoid making use of such services. This stigma imposes a great deal of mental stress, fear, and depression on patients and causes delays in the diagnosis and treatment of their conditions. OBJECTIVES: This paper explores the concept of stigma in the context of the utilization of reproductive health services by unmarried women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study is qualitative in nature. Purposive sampling was employed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 unmarried women, five midwives, and two physicians. The data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis method. RESULTS: Four main categories constituted the general concept concerning the stigma suffered by unmarried women for using reproductive health services, i.e., prevalent stereotypical thinking patterns in society, the fear of being judged and labeled by others, discrimination, and feeling ashamed of seeking reproductive health services. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that society associates reproductive health issues with sexual relations, which in turn shapes the stigma and places limitations on unmarried women for using reproductive health services. Thus, while reproductive health services are planned and provided to unmarried women, strategies are demanded for overcoming this stigma.