Guatemala: the pioneering days of the family planning movement.

This volume spotlights the most successful programs in the international family planning movement. Guatemala is not one of the internationally renowned success stories yet it has been included in this volume precisely because the uphill battle to introduce family planning in that country-which is still being waged today-is instructive in understanding the international family planning movement. Whereas other chapters describe how political will and strong leadership were able to overcome social and cultural barriers to contraceptive use this case study of Guatemala focuses on resistance to family planning at the highest levels starting in the 1960s which persisted for more than three decades and impeded the spread of family planning. Despite the establishment of a dynamic private family planning association in the mid-1960s 40 years later Guatemala ranks last in contraceptive use in Latin America. (excerpt)