Family planning is a sensitive, yet important topic to discuss with couples. For some, it’s an option they can take advantage of when they want to have the freedom to choose when they want to have children, especially since raising them is a huge responsibility. As parents, you have to make sure that you are ready to provide a happy and balanced childhood for your little ones. However, there may be instances when family planning is the only option. Here are some of the plausible reasons why family planning is a must;
Better Maternal Health and Child Survival
Maternal age can greatly affect a mother’s health and child’s survival. Women who get pregnant at an early age before they can be ready to become mothers can suffer from emotional trauma. Additionally, they may also have trouble caring for their baby due to immaturity, which can endanger the life of the child. Similarly, advanced age can also have significant complications as mothers are at a higher risk of developing maternal complications. Children born in older mothers are also at risk of being born with developmental disabilities.
Slashing Maternal Deaths
The use of family planning methods can also help reduce the number of maternal deaths, specifically due to unsafe abortions. Some women who are at high risk of dying during childbirth should also consider family planning once they have achieved a complete family size. According to Dr Snip, there may be instances where the woman cannot undergo operations due to an underlying health condition. In such a case, a vasectomy is an option for family planning.
Promoting Child Wellness
It has become a perennial problem for many large families that their children will not have equal opportunities. In most cases, the eldest will have to grow up too fast to assume responsibilities by working at a young age to help support the family, and this can cause them to develop anxiety. In some instances, they have to stop going to school and sacrifice so that their siblings will have a better chance. This problem has been persisting for so long and it is not fair for children to have to undergo this. Family planning allows couples to “plan” and space children accordingly based on their capacity to provide for their children. Family planning can be, in a sense, being kind to your children.
Different Family Planning Methods
There are different types of family planning methods that couples can choose from. Here are some of the most common:
- Barrier Methods: For couples looking for temporary birth control, the use of condoms and cervical caps can be effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy.
- Short-Acting Hormonal Techniques: This involves the use of birth control pills, skin patches, and hormonal injections. Since these are short-acting, they must be used on a daily or monthly basis.
- Long-Acting Hormonal Procedures: Partners who wish to prolong the space between pregnancies and don’t want to commit to a more permanent method, long-acting hormonal procedures will work. Depending on your choice, the methods can last between three and ten years after insertion. You can choose from a copper IUD or a contraceptive implant, which best suits your goals.
- Sterilization: Couples who have decided for a more permanent birth control can choose to undergo tubal ligation or vasectomy.
- Natural Methods: There may be some couples who may choose to go for natural birth control methods, which include knowing the days when they can be most fertile or checking the cervical mucus.
While it could be considered unconventional, family planning can be a way to do what’s best for the welfare of your children and your family unit as a whole.
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