Stimulated and Frustrated Demand for Female Sterilization among HIV-Positive Parturients in Brazil: Evidence from a Prospective Study

Regina Maria Barbosa, Núcleo de Estudos de População
Daniela Riva Knauth, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
Kristine Hopkins, University of Texas at Austin

This paper explores the sterilization intentions of HIV-infected pregnant women and the realization of those intentions postpartum in two cities in Brazil. We find that while a significant proportion of women in both cities intended to become sterilized after delivery, where they live is crucial as to whether they achieved this desire postpartum. A much higher proportion of women in Sao Paulo became sterilized postpartum compared to a tiny proportion of women in Porto Alegre. Qualitative data show that, in fact, sterilization is an option encouraged in clinics in Sao Paulo. In Porto Alegre, on the other hand, desire for postpartum sterilization may even be underestimated. Some women, knowing the difficulties of obtaining a tubal ligation, may have preferred a postpartum sterilization but instead expressed an intention to use another method. The local health service's position on sterilization, therefore, appears more important than the women's choice to use the method.