A thought-provoking look at women’s health in developing nations!

This book shows how war, military regimes, industrialization, urbanization, and social upheaval have all affected the choices Southeast Asian women make about their health and health care. When you read these first-person accounts from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma, you’ll be drawn into the lives of women dealing with drastic changes in their societies. The meticulous case studies in this book examine how social, cultural, and economic forces contribute to the way women make personal health care decisions. Women’s Health in Mainland Southeast Asia offers a thought-provoking look into the lives of women in this developing part of the world.

Topics addressed in Women’s Health in Mainland Southeast Asia include:

• a proposed new approach to women’s health, where treatment is determined by society, culture, and gender rather than by biology alone
• the relationship between menstruation and other aspects of life for Burmese women
• the politics of abortion in Thailand
• the difficulties of seeking care for reproductive tract infections in Vietnam
• the influence of local culture on the treatment of reproductive health problems in northeast Thailand
• occupational health hazards faced by women working in the electronics industry in northern Thailand
• the links between migration, sex work, and HIV/AIDS among female garment factory workers in Cambodia