OBJECTIVE: To identify the representations of contraceptive methods within a group of sterilized women, aiming at understanding the reasons why they refused those methods. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study was carried out on 31 sterilized women, randomly selected from a list of patients attending the Family Planning Program of a university hospital. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview. Interview transcription was analyzed according to the Content Analysis method. RESULTS: Refusal to other contraceptive methods was based on representations formed from a mixture of technical information received at health service units, their previous experiences with contraceptive methods and information received in the social environment. Rejection of high efficacy methods (hormonal and IUD) was mostly based on their low innocuousness; refusal to fertility awareness methods (calendar calculation, Billings ovulation method) was due to their low efficacy; and rejection of barrier methods (condom, diaphragm) was due to a culturally patterned sexuality full of interdictions as well as to their low efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: The option for female sterilization may be indicative of the refusal to the contraceptive alternatives offered by health services. Reproductive health professionals should increase in their practice the knowledge about personal, socio-economic and cultural factors that affect women's choice of a contraceptive method that could guarantee a better control over their own reproductive life.
Women's health; Contraception; Sterilization, tubal; Health knowledge; Family planning services; Health education; Reproductive medicine
