Reproductive Morbidity: A Conceptual Framework

Women's health, in general, and women's reproductive health, in particular, are currently receiving considerable attention in the political arena as well as from funding agencies. While politicians and advocates tend to refer to "health," scientists are more likely to focus on morbidity or the absence of health; unfortunately, the terms are often used interchangeably. The World Bank has drawn our attention to the heavy burden of reproductive disease, which is borne mainly by women (World Bank, 1993). The Decennial International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) stressed the importance of women's health, and especially their reproductive health, to overall economic development. ICPD defined reproductive health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes."