The social constructions of unwanted pregnancy and abortion in Lima, Peru

Abstract

Although modern contraceptive use in Peru has increased, many women still face unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and abortions remain high despite the illegality of elective pregnancy termination. To improve understanding of how men and women make reproductive decisions, we conducted this study in Lima. Fifty-two 18–37 year old low- and middle-income women and men participated in in-depth interviews and focus groups. Reproductive planning constitutes a worry among participants. The paradigm of contraception, pregnancy, childbearing and pregnancy termination is complex and contained within a context of contradictory pressures toward women: while women feel the need to be autonomous in all realms of their lives, they also need to meet the traditional roles associated with sexuality and childbearing and rearing. The woman, her partner and family members take part in reproductive decisions. However, participants expressed difficulties preventing unwanted pregnancies and social stigma if they resorted to abortion or, interestingly, if they continued a pregnancy when involved in a socially undesirable personal situation. Abortion-related stigma generated fear and guilt in addition to safety concerns given the unsafe, clandestine contexts in which pregnancy termination takes place. Despite these concerns, interviewees often opted for abortion for personal reasons, which were primarily economic.

Keywords:

• abortion
• reproductive decision-making
• contraception
• unplanned pregnancy
• unwanted pregnancy

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Dr Amy Tsui and the entire Contraception and Abortion Study Team for their support and their inspiration to explore this issue in such great depth. We also recognise the valuable contributions of our interview and focus group participants. Without them, this study would not have been possible.

Notes

1. The WHO multi-country study on domestic violence against women showed that Peru is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of this type of violence (Garcia-Moreno et al. 2005). The study, carried out with a representative sample of 1414 women aged 15 to 49 in Metropolitan Lima, found that 51% of ever-partnered women had experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner (Güezmes et al. 2002).