Oral histories help family planning evaluators.

Family planning evaluators are starting to recognize qualitative datas value. In 1988 brief life histories were tape recorded from 4 volunteers at family planning clinic in the Valle de Chalco just east of Mexico City. These tape recordings are not part of the clinics formal evaluation. Alicia is 23 years old was born in Mexico City and has 6-year-old daughter. She was 17 when her daughter was born and was not on any contraceptive. She did not graduate from high school but got married after her baby was born. She had her son 3 years later and does not want any more children. She was taking pills at the time that her son was born. The doctor told her she had not taken them correctly but she thought that maybe they did not work. She now has an IUD. She has had it for little over year and has had some bleeding. That is why she is at the clinic. She wanted an operation after she had her son but was told that she could no because she was too young. She has no money for any more children so she will continue to accept contraception. Graciela is 21-year-old and has 5-month- old daughter. She came to the clinic to find the best contraceptive method. Her mother told her about contraception but she is not sure her mother is right. She wants 2 children. Jorge is 24-years-old. He and his wife live with his parents but have room of their own. His parents agree that he and his wife should have 2 children because they had 6 and it is too many. If the doctor tells his wife that she cannot use any contraceptive method he would use condoms. But he says they take of practice and if you use them wrong they will not work. No one he knows uses them with street women. But they are easy to buy. Lucinda is 43-years-old and has 8 children. She was married at 15. At 17 she had her 1st child. Her youngest is 13. She decided to use birth control after he was born because her husband drinks and has a lot of other women. She drank too; but went to Alcoholics Anonymous and has stopped drinking. She went to Mexico City to get an IUD but began to bleed. The doctor said that her husband should get an operation but he did not want to. So she had an operation. She came to the doctor because of stomach pains. She thinks that they may have to do with the operation but they may not. Too many children can run you down she thinks.