RESUMO
PIP: A 1979 survey of women aged 15-45 years from Sao Paulo, Brazil, concerning their contraception use demonstrates the impact of family planning, even without an official family planning program. 23% of the women were using the pill and 16% were sterilized. Very few used diaphragms, condoms, or IUDs. Although there is now an official family planning program in Brazil, only middle and upper class women have access to sophisticated means of birth control. Poor women are limited to tubal ligation which is often disguised as a cesarean section (the rate at some hospitals for this operation is 90%). Since the Integrated Project was introduced in 2 pilot areas in 1983, 12 branches, where community representatives run monthly discussion meetings and classes are held on family planning methods, have been established in the city. Nurses coordinate volunteer efforts. The program began in slum areas by utilizing the nurses and nurseries already in place to care for children of working women. New expansion will require integrating the family planning program into other established, nongovernmental organizations and working with municipal and state governments.^ieng