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A pill to control the uterus: misoprostol and reproductive politics in Burkina Faso and Senegal
Journal article   Peer reviewed

A pill to control the uterus: misoprostol and reproductive politics in Burkina Faso and Senegal

Siri Suh, Tidiane Ndoye and Nathalie Sawadogo
Medical anthropology, pp.1-18
04/08/2026
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/10192/79617
PMID: 41948784

Abstract

Burkina Faso Senegal Abortion ethnography maternal mortality misoprostol
African women's uteri have long been objects of biomedical and technological control, from the promotion and discouragement of births by colonial authorities and development experts, to the neoliberal and feminist achievements of reproductive autonomy through consuming pharmaceutical products. We explore misoprostol - a medication for abortion and hemorrhage - as a technology for reproductive control in Burkina Faso and Senegal. By tracing authorized and unauthorized misoprostol use and distribution within and beyond hospitals, and in official and unofficial pharmaceutical circuits, we examine the perils of and possibilities for uterine control offered by this medication to local, national, and global stakeholders.
url
https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2026.2653860View
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