Sexual and reproductive health: perceptions of indigenous migrant women in northwestern Mexico

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents a preliminary view of perceptions of the sexual and reproductive health of indigenous migrant women in an agricultural valley in Northwestern Mexico. A qualitative design was implemented with individual interviews and participatory workshops. The objective was to learn about indigenous migrant women’s experiences with health services and their understanding of their sexual and reproductive rights. It was found that family was not a sufficient source of sexual information or education; that for women participating in this study, talking about sexual and reproductive health meant talking about reproduction; that the education system participates little in this aspect and that the health sector fails to respond in a timely and sufficient manner to this segment of the population. It is necessary to develop a more comprehensive view of the socio-cultural components of sexual and reproductive health in order to carry out a medical practice that considers the needs and perceptions of indigenous women. For women themselves, the challenge is to appropriate their body, to re-signify their sexual and reproductive rights and to exercise these rights.