Springer Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse

This expansive survey spotlights pervasive issues affecting girls’ and women’s sexual and reproductive health across the lifecourse. Research from diverse countries around the world analyzes the complex relationships among biological, psychological, sociocultural, and economic issues―particularly in terms of inequities―as they shape women’s lives. Major challenges and possibilities for intervention are examined in their national context and with their global implications, including child marriage/motherhood, reproductive care and access, fertility, childbearing, contraception, abortion, HIV/STIs, gender-based violence, sexual pleasure, and menopause. In these forceful dispatches, a consistent human rights perspective emphasizes women’s control, autonomy, and agency in all stages of their lives.  A sampling of topics covered: Girl child marriage: a persistent global women’s health and human rights violation Investigating challenges and resilience among women living with obstetric fistula in  Kenya A qualitative exploration of mainstream and social media reflections on abortion A continuum of severity of sexual intimate partner violence among black women in  the United States Economic empowerment to improve sexual and reproductive health among women  and girls Summarizing an interdisciplinary field on research and practical levels, Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse will be an invaluable text for undergraduate and graduate courses in a wide range of fields, including public health, global health, women’s studies, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, and human rights.  From the Back Cover This expansive survey spotlights pervasive issues affecting girls’ and women’s sexual and reproductive health across the lifecourse. Research from diverse countries around the world analyzes the complex relationships among biological, psychological, sociocultural, and economic issues―particularly in terms of inequities―as they shape women’s lives. Major challenges and possibilities for intervention are examined in their national context and with their global implications, including child marriage/motherhood, reproductive care and access, fertility, childbearing, contraception, abortion, HIV/STIs, gender-based violence, sexual pleasure, and menopause. In these forceful dispatches, a consistent human rights perspective emphasizes women’s control, autonomy, and agency in all stages of their lives. A sampling of topics covered: Girl child marriage: a persistent global women’s health and human rights violation Investigating challenges and resilience among women living with obstetric fistula in Kenya A qualitative exploration of mainstream and social media reflections on abortion A continuum of severity of sexual intimate partner violence among black women in the United States Economic empowerment to improve sexual and reproductive health among women and girls Summarizing an interdisciplinary field on research and practical levels, Global Perspectives on Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse will be an invaluable text for undergraduate and graduate courses in a wide range of fields, including public health, global health, women’s studies, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, and human rights. About the Author Shonali Choudhury, PhD, MMH, was born on December 17, 1979 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and died in Miami, FL on November 14, 2014. She graduated from Saint John’s School in the Condado of San Juan and completed her B.A. at Bard College in upstate New York.  As a child she wanted to be a medical doctor, but during her university years she decided to study social problems that affect health. Her senior thesis looked at mental health care of uprooted Puerto Ricans in upstate New York. After graduation she worked with the HIV Health Services Planning Council in Newark, NJ and went on to earn a PhD in Public Health