Cargando…

Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas

Purpose: Reproductive autonomy is associated with educational attainment, advanced employment, and well-being. While U.S. Latinas use contraception to control their own childbearing and have reported a desire to do so, they often use it inconsistently and have the lowest rates of contraceptive use o...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Carvajal, Diana N., Zambrana, Ruth Enid
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7058990/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32154491
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/heq.2019.0107
_version_ 1783503957478342656
author Carvajal, Diana N.
Zambrana, Ruth Enid
author_facet Carvajal, Diana N.
Zambrana, Ruth Enid
author_sort Carvajal, Diana N.
collection PubMed
description Purpose: Reproductive autonomy is associated with educational attainment, advanced employment, and well-being. While U.S. Latinas use contraception to control their own childbearing and have reported a desire to do so, they often use it inconsistently and have the lowest rates of contraceptive use of any group. Reasons previously cited for why Latinas do not use contraception compared with non-Latino white women include lack of access, lack of knowledge, language barriers, emphasis on large families, machismo, and religiosity. These reasons are often overly simplistic and can lead to widespread generalizations about Latinas. Methods: Using focus groups and semistructured interviews from November 2014 through June 2015, this study describes the family planning perspectives and experiences of 16 Latinas living in Baltimore and recruited from two federally qualified health centers. A social determinant of health framework was used to guide identification of important concepts and explain findings. Results: Results demonstrated that respondents reported contraceptive agency and claimed autonomy over their bodies; described a sense of responsibility and often expressed caution about having families too large to care for; expressed educational and career aspirations; and perceived contraception as critical for the postponement of childbearing to achieve their goals. Conclusion: The patient/provider encounter should include communication that recognizes all patient preferences and lived experiences to support vulnerable and/or marginalized Latinas in their desires to control their own childbearing and life choices.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7058990
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-70589902020-03-09 Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas Carvajal, Diana N. Zambrana, Ruth Enid Health Equity Original Article Purpose: Reproductive autonomy is associated with educational attainment, advanced employment, and well-being. While U.S. Latinas use contraception to control their own childbearing and have reported a desire to do so, they often use it inconsistently and have the lowest rates of contraceptive use of any group. Reasons previously cited for why Latinas do not use contraception compared with non-Latino white women include lack of access, lack of knowledge, language barriers, emphasis on large families, machismo, and religiosity. These reasons are often overly simplistic and can lead to widespread generalizations about Latinas. Methods: Using focus groups and semistructured interviews from November 2014 through June 2015, this study describes the family planning perspectives and experiences of 16 Latinas living in Baltimore and recruited from two federally qualified health centers. A social determinant of health framework was used to guide identification of important concepts and explain findings. Results: Results demonstrated that respondents reported contraceptive agency and claimed autonomy over their bodies; described a sense of responsibility and often expressed caution about having families too large to care for; expressed educational and career aspirations; and perceived contraception as critical for the postponement of childbearing to achieve their goals. Conclusion: The patient/provider encounter should include communication that recognizes all patient preferences and lived experiences to support vulnerable and/or marginalized Latinas in their desires to control their own childbearing and life choices. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020-03-04 /pmc/articles/PMC7058990/ /pubmed/32154491 http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/heq.2019.0107 Text en © Diana N. Carvajal and Ruth Enid Zambrana 2020; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. This Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Article
Carvajal, Diana N.
Zambrana, Ruth Enid
Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas
title Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas
title_full Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas
title_fullStr Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas
title_full_unstemmed Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas
title_short Challenging Stereotypes: A Counter-Narrative of the Contraceptive Experiences of Low-Income Latinas
title_sort challenging stereotypes: a counter-narrative of the contraceptive experiences of low-income latinas
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7058990/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32154491
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/heq.2019.0107
work_keys_str_mv AT carvajaldianan challengingstereotypesacounternarrativeofthecontraceptiveexperiencesoflowincomelatinas
AT zambranaruthenid challengingstereotypesacounternarrativeofthecontraceptiveexperiencesoflowincomelatinas