Reproductive health and family planning
Reproductive health means staying healthy in body and mind. Contraception allows spacing of children, and condoms also help prevent sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.
What is reproductive health?
Sexual maturity comes slowly, and the body may be ready before the mind is. Pressure from friends or the media should never push anyone into decisions. Reproductive health means being healthy in body and mind in all matters of reproduction: knowing your body, respecting others, avoiding infections and planning when to have children. Pregnancy makes heavy demands on a woman's body and mind, and repeated pregnancies harm her health, so child bearing should be planned with the mother's health first.
Methods of preventing pregnancy (contraception)
| Method | How it works | Examples | Points to note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrier | Stops sperms from reaching the egg | Condom for the penis; coverings worn in the vagina | Condoms also help prevent sexually transmitted infections |
| Hormonal | Changes the hormonal balance so eggs are not released | Oral pills | May cause side effects |
| Devices in the uterus | Placed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy | Loop, copper-T | May cause side effects due to irritation of the uterus |
| Surgical | Blocks the tube that carries sperms or eggs | Vasectomy (vas deferens, males); tubectomy (fallopian tubes, females) | Safe in the long run, but the surgery can cause infection or other problems if not done properly |
Bacterial vs viral sexually transmitted infections
Using a condom during sex helps prevent many of these infections. This is a key part of safe sex.
Sex ratio and the law
- Surgery to end a pregnancy can be misused because of the sex of the unborn child, usually when a girl is not wanted.
- Female foeticide, killing a female foetus, is a crime.
- Prenatal sex determination is banned by law in India.
- A healthy society needs a balanced ratio of girls to boys; in some parts of society the child sex ratio has fallen sharply.
Primary health centres and ASHA workers across India give advice on family planning and the spacing of children. The red ribbon worn on World AIDS Day (1 December) reminds everyone that HIV can be prevented.
2 marks: “Name two sexually transmitted infections caused by bacteria and two caused by viruses.” Bacterial: gonorrhoea, syphilis. Viral: warts, HIV-AIDS.
3 marks: “Describe three methods of contraception and say how each works.” Barrier (condom stops sperms reaching the egg); hormonal (oral pills stop eggs being released); copper-T in the uterus; surgical (vasectomy or tubectomy blocks the tubes).
2 marks: “Why is prenatal sex determination banned by law?” It was misused to kill female foetuses, which upsets the sex ratio. A healthy society needs a balanced number of girls and boys.
Contraception in four words: Block, Balance, Device, Cut: barrier, hormonal balance, copper-T, surgery.