Need for Family Planning and Birth Control Methods
Family planning is the planning used for a couple to determine when to have children. This can be done by means of natural and artificial birth control methods. Birth control means following some contraception methods in order to prevent or reduce the chances of pregnancy. Birth control is commonly used as a part of Family Planning. Considering the population explosion, family planning is the need of the time. Family planning also saves women from the risk of abortion.
Why Family Planning is Important
Raising a child requires significant amount of resources like time and money. Family planning can help ensure that these resources are available. If you have only one or two children, then you can give them a better education, a better life, can fulfill their needs and wants easily, and can give them a healthy lifestyle as compared to more number of children.
‘A Small Family is a Happy Family’
Family planning is being given a great emphasis in the most populous countries like China and India. In China, the government has made family planning compulsory for all the couples in order to control the increasing population. In India, family planning is not really followed. Very few people understand the need of family planning. In rural areas, couples still have more number of children.
The main reason behind the increasing population of the country is the lack of education. Government should lay emphasis on education in the rural areas so that the people can contribute in solving this problem. Putting some campaign to provide knowledge about family planning in the rural areas could be beneficial. Opening schools in rural areas is also very important to provide education and knowledge not only about family planning, but about the various aspects of the society.
Birth Control Methods
Birth control effectiveness is an issue that is fast gaining importance nowadays. There are various types of birth control methods available which have large differences in effectiveness. You can choose among various methods available. These include the following:
1. Barrier Methods – Barrier methods place a physical barrier to block the movement of sperm into the female reproductive tract. The most popular barrier method is the use of male condom.
2. Hormonal Methods – Hormonal methods prevent pregnancy by interfering with various female reproductive processes that leads to the fertilization of egg. The best method is the use of OralContraceptive Pills (Combined pill). This pill contains two hormones – 'estrogen' and 'progestin'. The pill is taken daily for a period of 21 days after which there is a washout period of 7 days. Then you can continue taking the pill in the same way. There are various types of contraceptive pills available. Talk to your doctor about the best suited pill for you.
3. Intrauterine Methods or Devices – These are the contraception methods where an intrauterine device is placed in the uterus. The device is usually of ‘T’ shape so that its arms can hold the device properly. One such device is Copper-T.
No method is perfect; every method has its pros and cons. You can choose any method that best suits you after consulting your doctor.