WHY PLANNED FAMILY IS IMPORTANT?

Family Planning has been recognized as one of the most cost-effective solutions for achieving
gender equality and equity.

 This can be achieved by empowering women with knowledge and agency to control
their bodies and reproductive choices by accessing contraceptive methods.
 access to contraceptives helps in delaying, spacing and limiting pregnancies; lowers
healthcare costs and ensures that more girls complete their education, enter and stay
in the workforce, eventually creating gender parity at workplace.
 Improving literacy and economic conditions for individuals lowers birth rates,
while low fertility in turn plays a positive role in economic growth.
Advantages of Family Planning:-

 Some family planning methods, such as condoms, help prevent the transmission of HIV
and other sexually transmitted infections.
 Family planning / contraception reduces the need for abortion, especially unsafe abortion.
 Family planning reinforces people’s rights to determine the number and spacing of their
children.
 By preventing unintended pregnancy, family planning /contraception prevents deaths of
mothers and children.

The methods available currently in India can be broadly divided into two categories, spacing
methods (are the reversible methods of contraception to be used by couples who wish to have
children in future) and permanent methods (generally considered irreversible.). An additional
method available is the emergency contraceptive pill which is to be used in cases of emergency.

Other Commodities - Pregnancy testing kits: Helps to detect pregnancy as early as one week
after the missed period, thus proving an early opportunity for medical termination of pregnancy,
thus saving lives lost to unsafe abortions.

Availability of Methods: All the spacing methods, viz. IUCDs, OCPs and condoms are
available at the public health facilities beginning from the Sub-Centre level. Additionally, OCPs
condoms, and emergency contraceptive pills are available at the village level also through trained
ASHAs.

Permanent methods are generally available at Primary Health Centre level or above. They are
provided by MBBS doctors who have been trained to provide these services. Laparoscopic
sterilization is being offered at CHCs and above level by a specialist gynecologist/surgeon only
Policy dealing with family planning in Inida: India was the first country in the world to have
launched a National Programme for Family Planning in 1952. In India, efforts have been made
over the years by the government to create a favorable policy environment for family planning, in
the form of several important policy and programmatic decisions.

 Hum do: A two-child policy is a government-imposed limit of two children allowed per
family, with the perks of government subsidies given only to the first two children.

 “Mission Pariwar Vikas”, 2016

Goal - Its overall goal is to reduce India's overall fertility rate to 2.1 by the year 2025.
Objective-
i. The key strategic focus of this initiative is on improving access to contraceptives
through delivering assured services, ensuring commodity security and accelerating
access to high quality family planning services.
ii. Providing more choices through newly introduced contraceptives: Injectable
Contraceptive, MPA (Medroxyprogesterone acetate) under Antara program and
Chaya (earlier marketed as Saheli) will be made freely available to all government
hospitals.
iii. Emphasis on Spacing methods like IUCD.
iv. Strengthening community-based distribution of contraceptives by involving
ASHAs and Focused IEC/ BCC efforts for enhancing demand and creating
awareness on family planning;
v. Ensuring quality care in Family Planning services by establishing Quality
Assurance Committees at state and district levels Plan for accreditation of more
private/ NGO facilities to increase the provider base for family planning services
under PPP.;
vi. Increasing male participation and promoting Non-scalpel vasectomy.

 Clinical Outreach Team (COT) Scheme: One of the main reasons for high fertility in the
MPV districts is the scarcity of providers in public health facilities and a dearth of private
sector facilities for provision of Family Planning services. In order to address this issue,
the States have been engaging Clinical Outreach Teams (COT) comprising a mobile team
of trained health care personnel and equipment, engaged through private accredited
organizations/ NGOs, providing sterilization services in farflung and underserved areas.

Despite, Contraceptive method being one of best way for a planned family it remains Global unmet
need as per World Health Organisation for million of women of reproductive age in developing
countries who want to avoid pregnancy couldn’t use contraceptive method. Reasons for this
include:

 limited choice of methods;

  limited access to contraception, particularly among young people, poorer segments of
populations, or unmarried people;
 fear or experience of side-effects;
 cultural or religious opposition;
 poor quality of available services;
 users and providers bias
 gender-based barriers.

"Committing human and financial resources to improving family planning services will not only
improve the health and well-being of women and children, but it will also support efforts to achieve
a sustainable global population."

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