Ingrid Alvarado

Ingrid Idalia Montes Alvarado, a 44-year-old mother of seven from a poor neighborhood in Guatemala City, had tried just about every family planning method.

She used condoms and different forms of hormonal short-term contraceptives, but she experienced side effects each time. And each time, Ingrid got pregnant.

After their sixth child was born, Ingrid and her husband decided they couldn’t afford to have any more children; she didn’t work and her husband was a day laborer. But they were confronted with a lack of access to information and effective contraceptive options. That’s when Ingrid got pregnant with her seventh child.

One day, Ingrid saw a flyer for a health clinic day about family planning methods organized by the Pan-American Social Marketing Organization (PASMO), PSI’s affiliate in Central America. Ingrid went to learn about her family planning options, especially long-term methods, such as implants and the intrauterine device (IUD).

At the health clinic day, PASMO counselors informed Ingrid about all of her family planning options, including hormonal and short-term methods, such as injectable and oral contraceptives.

Ingrid chose to get an IUD inserted. Since then, she hasn't been pregnant and hasn’t had any side effects.

Now, three of her children are married. Ingrid educates all of them about using contraception.

Read the rest of Ingrid's story in Impact Magazine.

The photos below are taken by Rita Villanueva.