• Gabriela Fuster Barbosa, Edson Santos Ferreira-Filho, Lais Abdo Quintão, Laura Fernandes Berto, Patrícia Gonçalves de Almeida, Edmund Chada Baracat, Luis Bahamondes, José Maria Soares-Junior, and Isabel Cristina Esposito Sorpreso.
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
• Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2025 Jan 25; 80: 100558100558.

BackgroundCommunication barriers make it difficult for deaf women to access information about contraceptive methods, making them vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies.ObjectiveTo identify knowledge and attitudes of deaf women in relation to contraceptive methods.MethodThe authors conducted a systematic review of the literature, PROSPERO registry (CRD42021277635), conducted from August 2021 to April 2024. The included studies focused on knowledge and attitudes about contraception among women with deafness.ResultsTwelve articles were included, with a total of 2,641 participants and those reported low knowledge about contraceptive methods. Nine studies showed withdrawal, condoms, and oral contraceptives as the best methods that deaf women know. Five studies showed low knowledge about intrauterine devices and subdermal implants. The main reasons given for abandoning the method were reproductive desire and fear of side effects. The use of hormonal contraceptives was higher among adult women and, two studies showed that among teenagers the practice of withdrawal was higher than the use of condoms. The barriers most mentioned in the eight articles for the use of contraceptives were those of communication.ConclusionKnowledge of contraceptives among deaf women was low; however, the attitude of acceptance of the use of contraceptive methods was favorable, despite the little access to more effective methods, especially among adolescents. The factor associated with low knowledge evidenced in the systematic review was communication barriers.Copyright © 2024 HCFMUSP. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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