Gender Perspectives In Reproductive Health Practices In Thailand

The relevance of issues of gender and sexuality in relation to reproductive health in Thailand is discussed here. The topics of this monograph were categorized according to a list formulated by WHO. These categories are family planning, maternal/child health and safe motherhood, infertility, and abortion/complications of abortions. The document also provides information on sexually transmitted diseases/reproductive tract infections, sex education, reproductive tract malignancy, adolescent health, menopause, and the elderly. These categories fall naturally under three headings: family planning, maternal/child health, and the consequences of unwanted pregnancies. In the latter stage of the project, consultative meetings were held in Bangkok, Hat Yai, Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai to obtain valuable views from other experts. The results were discussed at a seminar held in Bangkok on November 21-22, 1998. This seminar saw the adoption of a life cycle perspective in which men and women act out their gender roles--including those associated with sexuality--during adolescence and the subsequent stages of their adult lives. Because reproductive health is a coherent entity, policy and programs for all aspects of reproductive health should be integrated. This project concludes that research, advocacy and training concerning the gender-related aspects of interactions between providers and clients in the delivery of reproductive health services is needed. Also, a comprehensive information, education and communication program is called for so that services can be extended to include men in supportive roles wherever possible.

This document contains guidance for policy-makers and programme managers to help provide for the sexual and reproductive health needs of young people, based on three key factors: i) life-skills-based information and education; ii) access to reproductive health services that are receptive to them; and iii) a supportive and enabling environment. It is a joint WHO/UNFPA/UNICEF publication and has been developed in response to World Health Assembly resolution WHA55.19.

Based on original research in Northern Thailand and drawing on the breadth of indigenous Thai language materials, this study offers a sustained and powerful criticism of the normative modeling of the Thai AIDS epidemic in order to elicit new and more effective points of intervention.

Sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies, infertility, and other reproductive problems are a growing concern around the world, especially in developing countries. Reproductive Health in Developing Countries describes the magnitude of these problems and what is known about the effectiveness of interventions in the following areas: Infection-free sex. Immediate priorities for combating sexually transmitted and reproductive tract diseases are identified. Intended pregnancies and births. The panel reports on the state of family planning and ways to provide services. Healthy pregnancy and delivery. The book explores the myths and substantive socio-economic problems that underlie maternal deaths. Healthy sexuality. Such issues as sexual violence and the practice of female genital mutilation are discussed in terms of the cultural contexts in which they occur. Addressing the design and delivery of reproductive health services, this volume presents lessons learned from past programs and offers principles for deciding how to spend limited available funds. Reproductive Health in Developing Countries will be of special interest to policymakers, health care professionals, and researchers working on reproductive issues in the developing world.

This volume brings together studies carried out in a variety of contexts to explore the relevance of the notion of reproductive health and the role of culture in shaping its diverse manifestations. The perspective that guides the collection is informed by anthropological and sociological research on the body, pluralism, and medicalization, and by recent debates regarding women's health and the need to reconcile global agendas and local conditions. The fourteen chapters provide views of how reproductive health is viewed by women and men in different parts of the world, mainly at the level of local communities---in India, Egypt, Mexico, Kenya, and South Africa---but also in centres of power in China and Iran, and in modern (and post-modern) settings of the North and Far East. The methodological approaches used by authors are varied, but all share a concern with the perceptions, decisions, and rationalizations that surround health and reproduction. A central theme is the correspondence between professional and lay models of reproductive health, and some chapters explicitly seek to uncover the logic of practices that appear irrational from a biomedical point of view. By analysing behaviour from the perspective of the actors themselves, they show the relevance of local notions for understanding the factors that constitute risks for reproductive ill-health, including conditions of material deprivation, constraints in seeking care, and inappropriate use of therapies and technologies. "Cultural Perspectives on Reproductive Health" illustrates complex processes of negotiation, adaptation, and manipulation in the formulation of ideas and policies related to reproductive health through analyses of such topics as the state's discourse on population, religious constraints on abortion care, professional and legal policies on reproductive technologies, health professionals' response to violence, and the dilemmas that emerge from the new diagnostic and genetic techniques. It also invites reflection on the societal construction of rights across cultures and on the place of cultural explanations in analyses of reproductive health.