Why Is Family Planning Crucial?
he United Nations conference on human rights in 1968 provided a basic human right to all individuals and especially to women. This basic right is of planning your own family, in short, ‘family planning’. Family planning empowers couple mainly women in taking control of her life and body by providing her with the choice and right to plan her pregnancies and spacing the births.
Family planning is the most important public health advancement in the last century which promoted more than 300 million women to use modern contraception.
Family planning and health have a two –way relationship and is not restricted to birth control but also includes education, counseling, access to contraception and access to safe abortion.
BENEFITS OF FAMILY PLANNING
- Reduces pregnancy-related risks which in turn reduce the maternal mortality rate and promotes women’s health.
- Reduce infant mortality rate and can promote foetal and child health
- Reduce adolescent pregnancy and abortions
- Helps to prevent sexually transmitted diseases
- Helps in slowing population growth
It is estimated that by 2025 the use of contraceptive methods will increase by about 40%. This is due to the increasing number of young people entering their childbearing age. Even though there is an increase, there are few couples despite having access to family planning services do not opt to use them. The main reasons include side effects, infrequent sex, partners’ disapprovals, religious beliefs, and prejudices.
However, people must be aware of the several technologies and advancements in the medical sector that can help them in planning their families without any side effects and can help them lead a better life. They are as follow:
- IUD
Intrauterine device (IUD) is one of the most effective reversible contraceptive methods which do not affect the fertility of women once removed.
- Regular Contraceptive Pills
Contraceptive pills are effective in avoiding unwanted pregnancy. However, they must not be used on a regular basis. Every woman responds differently to these pills and though there are several myths doing their rounds around the side effects of these pills, there is no standard evidence to suggest that pills promote weight gain and have a long term health effect on the body.