This article analyzes the ways women try to decide the right time for motherhood, and the ways they combine their reproductive practices as part of their sexuality. The conceptive rule speaks of a time for motherhood as part of a series of social requirements which influence women’s expectations. The sexual partners they choose and the moment in their life trajectory seem paramount. This article examines the contraceptive practices of women according to the type of relationship they are in, as well as the role of medicalization and contraception in relation to unexpected pregnancies. There are significant differences in the meanings and practices of lower and middle income women. To middle-class women, abortion is a way of delaying the onset of the reproductive cycle; while for lower-income women it occurs mostly toward its end or as a way to set different birth cycles apart.
Motherhood; Contraception; Uruguay