Title

Reconciling Religious Identity And Reproductive Practices: The Church And Contraception In Poland

Keywords

Catholic Church; Contraception; Poland

Abstract

Background and objectiveAfter the fall of state socialism in Poland in 1989, a Catholic-nationalist government assumed power. The new political power of the Catholic Church resulted in severe restrictions on family planning (FP) services. Yet, Poland's fertility rate declined sharply, suggesting that women are controlling their fertility despite restrictions. This study examined the Church's influence on women's contraceptive decisions, and how women reconcile religious teachings with their contraceptive use. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study, including a cross-sectional survey and qualitative interviews, in Gdańsk, Poland with sexually active women aged 1840. The quantitative sample included 418 respondents; the qualitative sample included 49 respondents. Results Despite restrictions on FP services, modern contraceptive use among our sample was 56, up from 19 in 1991. Catholicism played a relatively small role in respondents' contraceptive decisions; though 94.2 of respondents were Catholic, 79 reported that the Church had little or no influence on reproductive decisions. Women's explanations for how they reconcile their reproductive practices with Catholicism included using elements of religion to support contraceptive use, prioritising responsibility for family and financial considerations over the Church's prohibitions, and challenging the Church's credibility in FP matters. Conclusions Our findings underscore women's struggles under post-socialist reproductive policies that limit FP access. Despite religious, political, and economic obstacles, contraceptive use has increased dramatically, indicating that FP is a high priority for women in Poland. Policies should respond to women's needs. Comprehensive, state-sponsored FP and sex education are urgently needed and the state should legitimise such services. © 2010 European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health.

Publication Date

8-1-2010

Publication Title

European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care

Volume

15

Issue

4

Number of Pages

232-242

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.3109/13625187.2010.498595

Socpus ID

77956332660 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/77956332660

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