Family planning promotes improvements in the health, and life, of each member of the household. With information, education, medical assistance and professional support it is possible to take care of women's health through, for example, spacing pregnancies.
Family planning is a concept that, through sexual education from an early age, young people, men and women would have to know well and put into practice in order to be able to decide and choose how to take care of themselves intimately, protect their health and control the number of children. that they want (or not) to conceive .
Within this notion there are various practices that aim at birth control . In this regard, it cannot be overemphasized that family planning is recognized as a human right . Every individual, without distinction or exception of any kind, deserves to be informed about reproductive health and have contraceptive methods at their disposal.
It is important to know (or remember) that professionals who are dedicated to instructing on this issue do not limit themselves to teaching how to find or avoid pregnancy : they also teach how to prevent and treat sexually transmitted diseases .
Family planning methods
For both women and men, options have been developed that aim to minimize (or prevent) the chances of an unwanted pregnancy occurring. That is why below we will indicate what they are, what characteristics they have and how family planning methods are classified.
First of all, natural methods appear, which require the female population to know their body well. It is essential that each person knows when their ovulation period is in order to promote or stop a possible pregnancy .
Sexual abstinence , that is, not having sexual relations , is the safest alternative when it comes to not running any risk linked to procreation . The rhythm or calendar method , meanwhile, is not recommended if you have an irregular menstrual cycle because it is based on calculations of days of greater or lesser fertility throughout the month.
Also part of this group are the cervical mucus technique , the method of controlling basal temperature , the withdrawal procedure or interrupted intercourse and the very specific and temporary method of taking into consideration the period of exclusive breastfeeding during which the woman does not is menstruating.
Barrier methods , on the other hand, include condoms (which provide protection against pregnancy and infections that can be transmitted sexually, such as HIV/AIDS , for example). The diaphragm and spermicides are other varieties present in this set.
Family planning helps to plan the arrival of desired children in a specific number and at a specific time in life, to minimize health risks and to carry out a controlled pregnancy.
Nor should we overlook hormonal methods such as the IUD (Intrauterine Device) , the contraceptive pill and the use of emergency contraception , to mention some of the possibilities.
Finally, among the surgical methods , there are tubal ligation (in the case of women) and vasectomy (for men).
reproductive health
When interested in issues related to planning for motherhood or fatherhood, it is appropriate to learn to distinguish between reproductive health (through which the right to select the contraceptive method most in line with the needs and possibilities of each person, to access a decent health service, etc.) and sexual health (interpreted as a state of socioeconomic, emotional and physical well-being linked to sexuality ).
It is important to note that the rights to both reproductive and sexual health constitute a fundamental piece of the right to health . Within this framework, respect for children's rights and health equity must be ensured so that no one, due to gender issues, is marginalized from access to medical care.
Maternal and child health , like that of the rest of the population, is favored when the family planning strategy is properly implemented. With containment and an optimal professional approach from the area of Obstetrics , to specify a specific reality, patients can make informed decisions , feel accompanied and supported in their personal choices regarding birth control and have both preconception and prenatal .
Responsible fatherhood implies the male commitment to take care of raising children, satisfying their basic needs, giving them affection and being present at every stage of their existence.
Family planning education and counseling
In family planning , education and counseling are essential . The teaching of sexuality must always be ensured from the first stages of existence so that, as they grow, all human beings receive relevant data and can acquire sufficient tools to adopt healthy, responsible and conscious measures regarding your sexual life . Pregnancy rates in adolescence can decrease considerably when there is a strong commitment to providing sexual education in schools, the need to adopt prevention methods for pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases , education about everything what it means to have an abortion and raise awareness about the value of gynecological check-ups and controls.
It is the responsibility of each State , on the other hand and simultaneously with the campaigns for safe and desired parenthood and/or motherhood , to carry out a solid public health policy and have (and enforce) reproductive health laws .