Sarah Ford | February 25, 2014

Women in Belize Share Their Stories With IPPF/WHR

Source: International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere Region

By Charis Davidson

IPPF/WHR Women in BelizeOver the course of a month in San Ignacio, Belize, I spoke with women about their experiences in their relationships and in their communities with regard to family planning. These women, whose ages ranged from 24 to 50, were open and generous when sharing their stories. We talked about a variety of things, like where they learned about sex and their experiences with pregnancy. Although their lives were different, there were similarities in every woman’s story.

When I asked Crystal, who was 24 years old, where she turned for information about sexual and reproductive health, she sighed and said, “Google.” Crystal didn’t have any children, but shared with me that she’d seen a lot of her friends panic when they learned they were pregnant.

“I think most for people, it’s more of a scary situation, rather than a joyful one,” she said. “They wonder what they’re going to do, and if the father is going to sustain the child.”

A Creole woman named Irene agreed. She’d become pregnant unexpectedly at 22 years old. “I really wasn’t making any decision,” Irene said, but took action after giving birth. She spoke to her sister, and then to a doctor. She started taking birth control pills to prevent another unplanned pregnancy.

“Being a single parent, I had to do something,” said Irene. “I thought it would be better not to have a lot of kids.”

When Teresa got pregnant at 19, she was pressured by her religious family to married the child’s father. Although she…

>> Continue Reading

Get Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox

Explore More Articles

Productive Partnerships: Supporting Nonprofits Through CSR Initiatives, hosted by NXUnite by Nexus Marketing

Productive Partnerships: Supporting Nonprofits Through CSR Initiatives

October 21, 2024

Join America’s Charities President and CEO, Jim Starr, along with other panelists on October 30, 2024 at 3:00 PM ET for NXUnite’s panel on Productive…

Read Article

Animal Rescue Team and Disaster Response

September 30, 2024

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Animal Rescue Team (ART) is on call 24/7, ready to deploy whenever animals are caught in large-scale…

Read Article

Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Together We Can End Domestic Abuse

September 24, 2024

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are victims of physical violence by a partner every year. People who are…

Read Article

Get Resources and Insights Straight To Your Inbox

Receive our monthly/bi-monthly newsletter filled with information about causes, nonprofit impact, and topics important for corporate social responsibility and employee engagement professionals, including disaster response, workplace giving, matching gifts, employee assistance funds, volunteering, scholarship award program management, grantmaking, and other philanthropic initiatives.

newsletter-mock