The substance-using woman and her sexual and reproductive health

Abstract

The problem of substance use is not exclusive to males, yetmost of the epidemiological & clinical data, assessment andinterventions are andro-centric. Apart from beingacknowledged as a habit either among marginalized femalesor the newer generation of urban females, substance useamong women has received limited mainstream attention.Existing literature not only points to the differences inprevalence and patterns of substance use across genders,but also unearths gender-specific issues having significantimplications in progression, outcome and management ofsubstance use in females. One such issue is the unmet sexualand reproductive health needs of this population. Thisarticle focuses on elaborating these issues along with brieflydelving into the special considerations for management ofthe related problems.