‘‘You just look at our work and see if you have any freedom on earthʹʹ: Ghanaian womenʹs accounts of their work and their health

Reproductive health problems did not figure prominently among the problems women described — almost three quarters of them spoke at length of psycho-social health problems such as ‘thinking too much’ and ‘worrying too much’. These, in turn, were often linked with problems such as tiredness and not being able to sleep. Headaches and bodily aches and pains were also mentioned by many of the women. In explaining the source of these problems, one of the strongest themes in womenʹs accounts was the importance of their work roles. Women spoke of the gender division of labor, their heavy workloads, the ‘compulsory’ nature of their work, their financial insecurity and the considerable financial responsibility they assumed for their children. These contributed to the worry they experienced and led them into many different work activities. They also talked about specific links between the nature of their work and the health problems they experienced, in particular, the physical toll of their work.