Empowering indigenous women in Venezuela to become mothers by choice, not chance

ZULIA, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – “The last time I was in labour, I was on the brink of death,” said Omaira Opikuko, a member of the Yukpa indigenous community in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.  

Ms. Opikuko lives in Misión Los Ángeles del Tukuko, an indigenous community in Zulia in the country’s northwest. As a mother of six children, she was intimately familiar with the pangs of labour – but this was different. 

“The doctor told me I had a prolapsed uterus and a haemorrhage,” she told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, in 2021. “I thought of my daughters and sons and started to cry.” 

In Venezuela, political and economic challenges have elevated risks of gender-based violence and complicated access to quality maternal health services, which increases women’s vulnerability to maternal mortality. 

For indigenous women and girls, these dangers can be exacerbated by poverty and geographic isolation. Fortunately, Ms. Opikuko and her sixth child survived the complications of childbirth, but her experience led to a resolution: She would have no more children. “I don’t want to be scared anymore,” she said. 

Embracing bodily autonomy

In Venezuela, economic instability, political turmoil and episodes of violence have disproportionately affected women and girls. Contraceptives are in short supply and have become prohibitively expensive; meanwhile, respondents to a small-scale 2023 survey revealed two in three of their pregnancies had been unplanned.

Back in Zulia, Ms. Opikuko soon decided she did not want to leave the possibility of becoming a mother up to chance. When UNFPA visited her community in 2021 to share information on contraceptives and family planning, she jumped at the opportunity to take control of her fertility. “That day, I told my husband it was enough,” she said. ”I wanted to get an intrauterine device.” 

In 2023, UNFPA provided more than 34,000 women in Venezuela with access to contraceptive methods and shared information on sexual and reproductive health and rights with more than 120,000 people. 

These discussions and services can help women and girls especially to pursue their dreams and achieve their potential. As one recipient told UNFPA: “I decided to use a contraceptive method because I don’t want to have babies yet. I live with my boyfriend and we are building a little house – after that, we can have our family”. 

Envisioning the future

After complications unfortunately led to the expulsion of Ms. Opikuko’s intrauterine device, she became pregnant again. Following the safe delivery of her seventh child, she opted for a subdermal implant. 

It has been a long journey to fulfil Ms. Opikuko’s fertility wishes. She now looks forward to seeing her family flourish through its next generations.

“I take care of my health,” she said. “I want to see my grandchildren and granddaughters; I’m going to see the future of my children.”