[Physicians denounce precariousness of reproductive health in the country and propose an addendum to the Brazilian document for the Cairo conference]. / Medicos denunciam precariedade da saude reprodutiva no Pais e propoem adendo ao documento brasileiro para Conferencia do Cairo.

PIP: On June 21, 1994, in Sao Paulo, a meeting took place of reproductive health professionals: service providers, university professors, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, secretaries of health of states and municipalities. They issued a manifesto on reproductive health in Brazil. In view of the preparations for the 3rd International Conference on Population and Development to take place in Cairo in September, 1994, it is hoped that these points will be incorporated into the official platform and in government action plans. Reproductive health is a basic human right. The growth of population decreased in Brazil in the 1980s, yet assistance in the area of reproductive health is still insufficient and unsatisfactory. The population decrease did not result in the improvement of health care and family planning. Maternal morbidity and mortality rates are still high in Brazil, especially in the north-northeastern regions, where it is 10 times higher than the national rate. There are 5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in Canada, 8 in the US, and 140 in Brazil. 90% of these deaths could be avoided by routine reproductive health measures. Important causes of infant mortality in Brazil are malnutrition and infectious diseases, which could be prevented by lifting the low socioeconomic level and through vaccination and birth spacing. Although fertility has been on the decline, the fertility of 10-19 year old adolescents has increased significantly, leading to high mortality rates for their infants. An estimated 1.4 million abortions occur per year in Brazil with frequent complications because of its illegal, clandestine nature. It is also estimated that 6-8 million women have been sterilized, which is the primary means of family planning because of the lack of other contraceptive options. The combination of cesarean-tubal ligation operations has been institutionalized in health services, which creates major distortions in the delivery of health care. Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise, and HIV infections are contracted mainly from sexual intercourse and IV drug abuse. Furthermore, it is absolutely necessary for men to participate in family planning education in order to raise the status of women.^ieng

[Pregnancy and adolescence today]. / Gravidez e adolescencia nos dias de hoje.

PIP: The high rate of adolescent pregnancy has been a social, medical, and personal problem defying solution since the 1970s. Pregnancy in young women is the major cause of maternal mortality and morbidity, social inequality of adolescent mothers, the exacerbation of neuroses, and the great number of abandoned or maladjusted children in society. The principal element of profound social transformations currently taking place is the question of sexual activity and sexual roles. Adults educated in a conservative society question the results of this education, where sex is prohibited for women but it is obligatory for men. In the last three decades this repression has been contested by accepting sexuality as a natural individual right. As a consequence of this sociocultural transition, adolescents are not prepared to restrain their sexuality until they reach maturity. In the preceding decades, a social stimulus induced young people (especially women) to start premarital sex without being sufficiently prepared for the eventual consequences, such as sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. The feminist movement wants a new place in society. These changes are ill-defined and obscure and provoke anxiety and insecurity in the fulfillment of women's role. Adolescence is a phase of change of identity, and anxiety and uncertainty about the proper sexual role also contribute to emotional instability. Preparation for a profession requires a long time and dependency on the family postponing economic independence for marriage. This dichotomy promotes premarital sexual life. On the other hand, those who do not study find it difficult to get a job, which also involves adolescents in irresponsibility and disrespect for social values. Pregnancy is often the solution to this unproductivity by creating a condition that is socially recognized. These factors may explain the high rate of adolescent pregnancies, which is ten times higher than it was at the beginning of the century.^ieng

Homossexualismo feminino no Manicomio Judiciario de Sao Paulo. / Female homosexuality in the Manicomio Judiciario de Sao Paulo

Foram submetidas e entrevistas pessoais 42 mulheres internadas no Manicomio Judiciario do Estado de Sao Paulo, interrogadas sobre seus habitos sexuais preteritos e presentes. A amostra caracterizou-se por uma idade mediana de 31,2 anos sendo constituida em sua maioria por mulheres brancas, solteiras, catolicas, de baixo nivel de escolaridade, e que se dedicavam, antes de sua reclusao, a trabalhos manuais nao especializados. Todas foram condenadas por crimes graves, cometidos em regime de privacao da razao. Pouco mais da metade dessas pacientes referiu a pratica atual da masturbacao, sendo alta a frequencia de homossexualismo (64,3%). A grande maioria referiu relacoes heterossexuais antes da reclusao, com vida sexual promiscua e precocemente iniciada. O orgasmo foi referido como habitual, nas relacoes heterossexuais por 28,1% das pacientes. Entre as que praticam atualmente o homossexualismo, 37% ja o faziam antes da reclusao, tendo mesmo algumas delas se iniciado na infancia. As 25 mulheres com experiencia sexual em ambas as modalidades referem, em percentual mais frequente, sensacoes orgasticas em praticas homossexuais.A maioria delas pretende manter relacoes homossexuais quando e se libertadas

O uso de metodos anticoncepcionais entre favelas de Santo Andre, SP. / Use of contraceptive methods among beehived women of Santo Andre, SP

Atraves de entrevistas pessoais, pesquisa-se a posicao de 91 mulheres faveladas do Municipio de Santo Andre, Sao Paulo.As entrevistas referiram grande numero de gestacoes e de partos, sendo a maioria usuaria de algum metodo, anticoncepcional ou de esterilizacao. Apenas 11 dessas mulheres desejam engravidar a curto prazo, enquanto 7 outras nao tem vida sexual ativa, atual, 5 estao gravidas e 4 lactando. Dentre as 64 restantes, 13 foram submetidas a laqueadura tubaria e 51 utilizam metodos anticoncepcionais. O metodo anticoncepcional preferido por 70,6% das entrevistadas e o anticoncepcional oral, sendo de salientar a raridade do uso de dispositivo intra-uterino