The invisibility of sexual and reproductive decisions of women who live and work in rural contexts

Abstract

The study analyzes how sexual and reproductive decisions are made by women who live and work in a rural context. This is a descriptive study, using data triangulation and a qualitative approach, conducted with 31 women from rural regions in the northeastern states of Brazil. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews, supported by a semi-structured script. Lexical analysis, supported by the Iramuteq statistical software, was used for data interpretation. The lexical classes deal with the difficulties in carrying out essencial exams for female health, such as mammography and cytopathological examination of the cervix, as well as accessing contraceptive methods in public health services. In addition, these challenges influence reproductive decisions and their consequences. The similarity analysis points to the interference of social assigned roles attributed to these women as a central issue in their sexual and reproductive decisions. It became evident that female sexual and reproductive decision-making has been made unfeasible since the care provided by public health reflects the imprisonment of female bodies through the medicalization of reproductive cycles and the invisibilization of these bodies in terms of sexual desires based on a healthy sexual life, free from pre-established behaviors, encompassing age diversity.