Social policy with tunnel vision: the problems of state efforts to curb adolescent pregnancy in post 1988 Brazil (original) (raw)
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In 1996-97, we conducted an interdisciplinary investigation of the influence of television on family values and reproductive behavior among, mainly, low-income Brazilians. The communities we studied were a small town in the interior of the Northeast, a favela in the city of São Paulo, and a mid-size city in a remote part of the state of Minas Gerais. There were two main tensions that we observed during our fieldwork. The first was that between the values, norms, and ideas portrayed on television shows, especially telenovelas, that were targeted for an audience of upper and middle-class Brazilians living in the main metropolitan cities, and those of the communities which we studied, many which considered themselves to be far less "modern" or more conservative than people living in cities such as Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. The other was the intergenerational conflict or friction between youth and their parents. The question we address here regards the epidemic of teenage p...
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This paper presents the results of a study aimed at describing the treatment given by schools, family, and social group to pregnant adolescents and at examining sex education in the family and school environments. Theoretically, we revisited some approaches concerning gender studies. We show quantitative results obtained from a structured questionnaire applied to a sample of pregnant students at a state-owned elementary school in Novo Hamburgo, state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). The results indicate that 87.5% of the adolescents informed they got pregnant because they were reckless about contraceptive methods, which was confirmed when they answered why they ended up pregnant. This association is statistically significant and we understand that, based on the social group to which these adolescents belong, being a teen mother is natural, as the recklessness associated with protection during sexual intercourse is directly related to their desire to get pregnant, a common, easily accepted, and highly value behavior in the social group in which they are inserted. Most pregnant adolescents who drop out of school are not encouraged by schools or their families to go back to studying; adolescents are abject bodies as they are bodies whose lives are not regarded as "lives" and whose materiality is seen as "unimportant" by schools (Butler, 2015). Adolescents seem to understand that their importance and value just exist when they repeat what is reinforced by their social group: girls get pregnant early on.
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This chapter introduces and discusses to what extent policies focused on promoting maternal and infant health through public health services are or are not effective in the coverage area. The discussion is based on accounts of adolescents--mothers or still pregnant--and the assistance provided to them and their children through these services. The accounts, which are derived from an independent program of home visits to accompany these adolescents, are complemented by observations made by the visitation team about whether assistance provided by health services promote maternal and infant health and the rights of children and adolescents. To provide context, we present a panorama of current public-health policies and services aimed at mothers and infants in Brazil, as well as some health indicators for this population. Finally, we discuss the possibilities and challenges of promoting the healthy development of mothers and their children in these contexts.
Adolescent Pregnancy Risks in a City of Average Size in Northeastern Brazil
Journal of Pregnancy and Child Health, 2014
Introduction: Pregnancy in adolescence is a frequent public health problem worldwide, because it is associated with increased clinical and social complications affecting both mothers and newborn/infants. Materials and Method: An analytical prospective study was conducted, comparing 200 pregnant women followedup during pre-natal care in the city of Cruz das Almas-Bahia-Brazil, in the period between November, 2009 and October, 2010. Women were divided into two groups: adolescents (between 10 and 19 years old) and adults (between 20 and 36 years old). The following socio-demographic variables were analyzed: self-declared color, educational level, marital status, family income. The maternal clinical variables evaluated were: parity, gestational age, gynecological age, weight, height, number of pre-natal consultations, weight gain during pregnancy, mode of birth and complications at birth. The clinical variables described for the newborn were: prematurity, birth weight, Apgar Score in first and fifth minute post-birth. Results: The socioeconomic characteristics differed between the groups. Among adolescent group, there were more single women; family income was lower; first sexual intercourse took place earlier than adult group. There was no difference in maternal and newborn clinical outcomes between the groups, with exception of birth weight, which was lower in adolescent group than adult group. Conclusion: Pregnancy in adolescence is associated with greater social vulnerability, and not with biologic risk when compared with pregnancy at adult age. General Context: The results founded herein demonstrated that pregnancy in adolescence was not associated with unfavorable perinatal or obstetric results, but was associated with greater social vulnerability when compared with those of adult pregnant women.
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