The (im)possibilities in contraceptive management of young women in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: challenges to...

This article analyzes narratives of young women from lower and middle socioeconomic backgrounds regarding their intentions (not) to become pregnant and reproductive experiences, considering gender, class, race, and generation. This socioanthropological study is based on an intersectional framework. The empirical material consists of eight in-depth interviews, conducted in 2021 and 2022, with cisgender women, aged 17 to 24 years, from Rio de Janeiro. Women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds reported difficulties accessing copper IUDs or tubal ligation through the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and dissatisfaction with contraceptive methods, leading to unintended pregnancies. Middle-class women did not face access issues but did encounter challenges in communicating with gynecologists. One experienced an unintended pregnancy. All expressed a desire not to become pregnant, but only one did not feel at risk. Suffering, discomfort, and fear of hormonal contraceptive side effects were common. Coercion, reproductive abuse, and sexual violence appeared in some narratives. The (im)possibilities of contraceptive management intersect with social contexts marked by multiple oppressions. Given social health inequities, challenges to reproductive justice are heightened.