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POST-STERILIZATION AUTONOMY AMONG YOUNG MOTHERS IN SOUTH INDIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2013

SASEENDRAN PALLIKADAVATH ,
IRUDAYA RAJAN ,
ABHISHEK SINGH ,
REUBEN OGOLLAH  and
SAMANTHA PAGE
SASEENDRAN PALLIKADAVATH*
Affiliation:
Global Health and Social Care Unit, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, UK
IRUDAYA RAJAN
Affiliation:
Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, India
ABHISHEK SINGH
Affiliation:
Global Health and Social Care Unit, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, UK
REUBEN OGOLLAH
Affiliation:
Global Health and Social Care Unit, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, UK
SAMANTHA PAGE
Affiliation:
Global Health and Social Care Unit, School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, UK
*
1Corresponding author. Email: sasee.pallikadavath@port.ac.uk
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Summary

This study examined the post-sterilization autonomy of women in south India in the context of early sterilization and low fertility. Quantitative data were taken from the third round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) carried out in 2005–06, and qualitative data from one village each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu during 2010–11. The incident rate ratios and thematic analysis showed that among currently married women under the age of 30 years, those who had been sterilized had significantly higher autonomy in household decision-making and freedom of mobility compared with women who had never used any modern family planning method. Early age at sterilization and low fertility enables women to achieve the social status that is generally attained at later stages in the life-cycle. Policies to capitalize on women's autonomy and free time resulting from early sterilization and low fertility should be adopted in south India.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 75 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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