A mixed-methods study exploring women's perceptions of terminology surrounding fertility and menstrual regulation in Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria.
Reprod Health
; 18(1): 251, 2021 Dec 20.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34930322
Women use various words and phrases to describe their experiences managing their fertility and menstrual irregularities, and may interpret the experience of ending a possible pregnancy in nuanced ways, especially when their pregnancy status is ambiguous. Our study aims to understand the terminology women use to refer to abortion-like experiences (specifically menstrual regulation, which refers to actions taken to regulate a menstrual cycle, and pregnancy removal), and the specific scenarios that these practices encompass among women who reported having had an abortion in Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria. Our analysis draws upon data from surveys and qualitative interviews conducted in both countries. We find that the majority (71% in Nigeria and 70% in Côte d'Ivoire) of women perceive menstrual regulation to be a distinct concept from pregnancy removal, yet there is considerable variability in whether specific scenarios are interpreted as referring to menstrual regulation or pregnancy removal. Menstrual regulation is generally considered to be more ambiguous and not dependent on pregnancy confirmation in comparison to pregnancy removal, which is consistently interpreted as voluntary termination of pregnancy. These findings have relevance for researchers aiming to document abortion incidence and experiences, and practitioners seeking to address women's reproductive health needs.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Fertilidad
Tipo de estudio:
Qualitative_research
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Reprod Health
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos