Reproductive Health Matters (RHM) is an independent charity which produces a twice yearly peer-reviewed

Peer review

Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...

 journal and other publications on reproductive and sexual health and rights

Reproductive rights

Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:...

, and organises workshops and meetings on these issues. Aimed at an international audience, RHM's publications are available in print and online by subscription. They are distributed free to institutions and organisations who cannot afford to pay, particularly in developing countries.

The RHM journal is produced in English, with translated editions in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, French and Russian.

RHM was founded in 1992, with the first journal issue published in 1993. The founding editor is Marge Berer.

Areas of focus

• Laws, policy, research and services concerning reproductive and sexual health and rights
• Examining experiences of people affected by reproductive and sexual health and rights issues
• Access to safe, legal abortion
  Abortion
  Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
  
   and contraception
  Contraception
  Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
  
  
• Sexually transmitted infections including HIV
  HIV
  Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
  
   worldwide

Audience

• Reproductive health and rights advocates
• Health service providers, including obstetricians, gynaecologists
  Obstetrics and gynaecology
  Obstetrics and gynaecology are the two surgical–medical specialties dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state, respectively, and as such are often combined to form a single medical specialty and postgraduate training programme...
  
   and other clinicians, midwives and nurses, family planning
  Family planning
  Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
  
   providers and associations, primary health care
  Primary health care
  Primary health care, often abbreviated as “PHC”, has been defined as "essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost...
  
   providers, HIV counselling and treatment providers, and counsellors
• Health policymakers, ministries and health departments, including maternal
  Maternal health
  Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. It encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care in order to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.Preconception care can include...
  
   and child health, sexual and reproductive health, family planning and STIs
  Sexually transmitted disease
  Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
  
  /HIV
  HIV
  Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
  
  /AIDS
  AIDS
  Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
  
  
• National and international health professional associations
• International agencies and donors, including United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   agencies
• NGOs and other civil society organisations focusing on health, population, development and human rights
  Human rights
  Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
  
  
• Social science and biomedical researchers and scientists
• Academics and their students in law, medicine, demography
  Demography
  Demography is the statistical study of human population. It can be a very general science that can be applied to any kind of dynamic human population, that is, one that changes over time or space...
  
   and public health
  Public health
  Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
  
  
• University and post-graduate education and training courses for sexual and reproductive health professionals
• University and other libraries and resource centres
• Journalists, newspapers, newsletters, journals and magazines, and those in related fields