Introduction to Reproductive

Health
Lecturer
Sehrish Farah
RN,RM,BScN,MSPH
Content/ Objectives
• Integrate the role of a community health nurse and other health team
members in reproductive health care.
• An overview of women’s health and its relationship to poverty, access and
quality of care.
• Gender equity, basic health service, and emotional psychological support
What is Reproductive Health?

• “Reproductive health refers to the complete physical, mental and

social well-being and not simply the absence of a disease in an
individual capable of reproducing.”
• Reproductive health means a total well-being in all aspects of
reproduction. (WHO)
• Sexual health
• Sexual health means having a responsible, satisfying, and safe sex life,
that is free from disease, injury, violence, disability, unnecessary pain,
or risk of death.
Introduction
• Good reproductive health implies the people have capability to reproduce
have a satisfying and safe sex life and have the freedom to decide when and
how often to do so.
• Men and women should be informed about and have access to safe, effective,
affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice
• The use of the term ‘reproductive planning’ instead of ‘family planning’ has
supported the SRH in Brazil, including the defense that it is a more
comprehensive conception, considering that the concepts of family planning,
as well as birth control, have also an economic-demographic approach.
 Reproductive and Sexual Rights
• Reproductive rights include the rights of couples and individuals to:
• Make free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives, including
the number, timing, and spacing of their children
• Attain / achieve the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health
• Sexual rights include the rights of all individuals to:
• Make free and informed decisions on all matters relating to their sexuality
• Be free of discrimination, coercion/force, or violence in their sexual lives
and decisions
• Expect and demand equality, full consent, mutual respect, and shared
responsibility in sexual relationships
Integrate the role of a community health nurse and other health team
members in reproductive health care.
• To provide counseling and assistance in reproductive planning
• For public health nurses associated to family planning contemplating educational aspects
and anti-conception counseling.
• Specialists are concerned with professional work based on dialogical communication, care,
empathy, respect and development of confidence, in ethics, culture as health determinant,
in solving problems, equality and in professional secrecy.
• It is incontestable that these competences influence the quality of attention given in
primary healthcare services in the ambit of sexuality and reproduction.
• Encourage sharing of knowledge that will promote the understanding
• Dialogical communication practices
• Longitudinally of care and the practice of intersectoral actions to promote sexual and
reproductive health.
Cont…

• the access to examinations for detection of sexually transmitted diseases.

• Essential medications should be guaranteed by primary healthcare services .
• Address theoretical references, interdisciplinary work, counseling and
referral of sexual violence cases, promotion of self care.
• Education, work, promotion of care and the understanding of the social and
cultural dynamics.
• Considering gender, class, race, ethnic group and social diversity aspects.
• Importance of reproductive health is a new target on universal access to
reproductive health by 2015 under MDG 5 (improve maternal health)
What are the 4 pillars of reproductive health?

• These principles are based on the four (4) pillars of Responsible

Parenthood.
• Respect for Life
• Birth Spacing, and Informed Choice.
• Health services, including Reproductive Health services, are devolved
by the Local Government Code to the local government units.
Reproductive Health Problems

• The common problems or concerns associated with the reproductive

health are :

• Deformities.
• Overpopulation.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
• Ill health of both mother and her baby.
• Early marriages before attaining the puberty.
• An increased mortality rate of both mother and Infants.
Strategies to Improve Reproductive Health
• Listed below are a few strategies followed to improve reproductive health:

• The introduction of sex education is one of the steps taken by the government
which aims to create awareness among the adolescents about safe sexual practices.
• As adolescents become eligible to reproduce, it is essential to inform them about
the consequences of unsafe sexual practices and early pregnancy.
• It is achieved by the implementation of ‘National Adolescent Education Program’ at
various schools from classes 9th to 12th.
• People in the marriageable group are educated all about infertility, birth control
methods, pregnancy, post-childbirth care of the baby and mother, etc.
• It is also essential to provide proper medical facilities to deal with obstacles like
infertility and other reproductive difficulties.
 Overview of women’s Health

• Women's health is a broad term referring to physical and mental health

problems.
• Which are more common in women or which differ in presentation,
severity, or consequences in women compared to men.
• Women's health is often defined in terms of reproductive health
• Safety for younger women and in terms of diseases that appear in the
female reproductive organs.
• However, the most prevalent diseases in women are cardiovascular
diseases.
• The universally lower social and economic status also contributes to poor
health and lack of access to care among women.
• Violence against women has become a worldwide public health concern.
Women’s Health and Poverty

• The World Bank describes poverty as hunger, lack of shelter, not having access to school and
lack of medical care.
• Women's health is determined not only by biology but also by social context.
• Health care costs threaten their health and economic security. 
• Cost as a barrier can be particularly harmful to certain groups of women, like black women.
• While the health of both men and women is adversely affected by poverty, a higher
proportion of women suffer from its effects because of increasing "feminization of poverty”.
• Women are the majority of the poor due to cultural norms and values, gendered division of
assets, and power.
• women and girls bear an unequal burden of unpaid domestic responsibilities.
• The poor die in young age and they usually suffer from communicable diseases, maternal
and perinatal conditions, and nutritional deficiencies.
 Quality Care:

• WHO definition of quality of care is “the extent to which health care services provided to
individuals and patient populations improve desired health outcomes. In order to achieve this,
health care must be safe, effective, timely, efficient, equitable and people-centred.”
• Safe. Delivering health care that minimizes risks and harm to service users, including avoiding
preventable injuries and reducing medical errors.
• Effective. Providing services based on scientific knowledge and evidence-based guidelines.
• Timely. Reducing delays in providing and receiving health care.
• Efficient. Delivering health care in a manner that maximizes resource use and avoids waste.
• Equitable. Delivering health care that does not differ in quality according to personal
characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, geographical location or socioeconomic status.
• People-centred. Providing care that takes into account the preferences and aspirations of
individual service users and the culture of their community.
Women’s Access and quality of care.

• Low-income women are also more likely to cite problems like

taking time off work,
childcare, or
transportation as reasons for not obtaining care. 
• While poverty is an important barrier to positive health outcomes for both men and women.
• Poverty tends to yield a higher burden on women and girls’ health due to, for example, feeding
practices (malnutrition) and use of unsafe cooking fuels (COPD).
• women's health is also greatly affected by the extent and quality of health services available to them.
• women are major health care users as well as providers, they are under-represented in decision-
making in health care.
• Gender bias has led to women and girls being restricted in their access to, employment, education
and health care.
• Gender inequality may lead to health risks, suboptimal health behaviors and inferior health outcomes
for women and girls
• A lack of gender representation and diversity within the medical profession may lead to female
patients and their children not having equitable access to health care.
Cont…

• Quality of care is also a key component of the right to health, and the route to
equity and dignity for women and children.
• In order to achieve universal health coverage, it is essential to deliver health
services that meet quality criteria.
• There is a need to address the differences in health and health care between
men and women, including both the biological and socio-cultural dimensions.
• Discrimination against girls and women damages their health expectation.
• Social, religious and cultural practices – which diminishes women’s freedom
to make decisions for themselves and to access employment and healthcare
opportunities.
RECOMMENDATIONS

• The World Medical Association urges its constituent members to:

• Condemn violations of the basic human rights of women
• Insist on the rights of all women and children to full and adequate medical
care.
• Promote the provision of pre-conception, prenatal and maternal care, and
post-natal care.
• Provision of immunization, nutrition for proper growth and health-care.
• Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health.
• Promote women’s and children’s health as human rights.
• Advocate for educational, employment and economic opportunities for
women and their access to health services.
• Work towards the achievement of the human right to equality of opportunity
and equality of treatment, regardless of gender.
Gender Definitions

 Gender: refers to the socially defined roles and responsibilities of

men, women and boys and girls. Male and female gender roles are
learned from families and communities and vary by culture and
generation
 Gender equality: means the absence of discrimination, on the basis
of a person’s sex, in opportunities, in the allocation of resources or
benefits or in access to services
Gender equity:
 Means fairness and justice in the distribution of benefits and
responsibilities between women and men and often requires women-
specific projects and programmes to end existing inequities
 Men and Women do not receive less or inferior treatment by virtue of their
sex. But Women are less likely to go for the treatment.
 Wrong assumption that disease rates are lower among women.
 Health needs which are specific to each gender receive appropriate
resources.
 For example women and girls have reproductive health need.
Gender in the context of health
 Gender Inequality in relation to health
 Lower status/social value in the household
 Cultural factors such as lack of female health provider
 Being excluded from decision making on health actions and expenditure
 Lower literacy rates and reduced access to information
 High opportunity costs of women’s labour time –distance, waiting time etc.
 Social division of labour (women-informal care provider)
 Susceptibility and Treatment to infectious diseases-Malaria & Tb. High
 Public health issues like violence, alcoholism, smoking and life style related
problems
 What Are Health Services and Basic Health services?

o Health services consist of medical professionals, organizations, and ancillary health care workers
who provide medical care to those in need.

o Basic health services means those health services, including as a minimum, but not limited to,
emergency care, inpatient hospital and physician care, ambulatory physician care, and
outpatient and preventive medical services.

o Health services serve patients, families, communities, and populations.

o They cover emergency, preventative, rehabilitative, long-term, hospital, diagnostic, primary,

palliative, and home care.

o These services are centered around making health care accessible, high quality, and patient-
centered.

o Many different types of care and providers are necessary in order to offer successful health
services.
Types of Services
Health services cover many different types of medical issues.
Many people think of primary care, outpatient care, and emergency care when they need not feeling
well.
There are more health services that are dedicated to certain illnesses or issues.
These health services include:
•Mental health care
•Dental care
•Laboratory and diagnostic care
•Substance abuse treatment
•Preventative care
•Physical and occupational therapy
•Nutritional support
•Pharmaceutical care
•Transportation
•Prenatal care
Emotional psychological support