Reproductive Control!;

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of various forms of in-lawperpetuated reproductive control asserted on the female and any possible factor such aseducation level or early age of marriage which might be responsible for it as various studieshave demonstrated that violence against women has been documented to be perpetuatednot only by male partners but also by the family members of male partners. This multi-centriccross sectional observational study was carried out on 424 consecutive patients in 6 hospitals.The mean age (+ S.D) was 33.7+7.8 years and age of marriage (+S.D) was 21.3+2.8years.116(27.4%) were uneducated, 142(33.5%) had obtained education till primary level,124(29.2%) had secondary education and 42(9.9%) had higher level of education. Upon askingabout any life time in-law perpetuated reproductive control 205 (48.3%) of the females answeredone or more than question as yes and 142 (33.5%) of the participating females said that thein-laws advised their husbands to go for a second marriage if they did not become pregnant.The more uneducated the participants of the study were, more abuse was faced at the handsof her in-laws (p-value <0.005). The most common form of reproductive control asserted bythe in-laws was telling the husband to go for a second marriage if the female did not becomepregnant and this was most commonly seen in the less educated females (p-value <0.005).Inconclusion increased efforts are needed to involve the in-laws in programs that seek to improvewomen’s reproductive health.