The concept of family planning has been in use since the start of the 16th century and can be first seen in the people of Africa. It refers to the process in which the wife and husband mutually discuss and decides how many children they might have and how much space should be given between each of them. For this purpose, they can sometimes consult a physician. Physicians mostly advise the wives to space the children that they will have, and have them after three years from the previous one instead of having too many children too quickly. Family planning involves several factors. Some of these factors are pre-conception counseling as well as management, management, and prevention of infections transmitted sexually, infertility management, and so on. 

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Family planning definition

Family planning can be defined as the ability of couples as well as individuals to predict as well as to attain the number of children that they desire. The process further involves making decisions about the timing and spacing of their child’s birth. Family planning involves several aspects such as the woman’s wish about the number of children she wants to have and the particular age at which she wants to have them. Family planning is mostly achieved through treating involuntary fertility and the utilization of different contraceptive methods. A woman’s wish regarding the number of children she wishes to have is often influenced by several external factors such as career considerations, marital status, financial position, or some disability that she might have. Apart from these external factors, if the woman is sexually active then family planning can be facilitated through the use of different contraceptive methods or other techniques that can control the reproduction timings. 

Family planning methods

Several family planning methods can be used by couples as well as individuals to decide and control the number of children they are going to have. Some of these have been outlined in the following.

• Primary methods involve a proper conversation about the matter between husband and wife.
• Consult an appropriate physician about the concept of family planning and different contraceptive methods.
• Consulting the parents of the husband or wife about family planning and how many children they should have. 

Apart from these primary methods, there are several family planning methods involving different types of contraceptive methods. The different types of contraceptive methods that can be used to facilitate family planning have been outlined in the following

Male Condoms: A male condom can be defined as a contraceptive method that is specially made from a very thin sheath of rubber. A condom is put over the erect penis of a man just before intercourse. The benefit of using a condom is that it prevents the sperm of the man from entering the vagina of the woman. 

SDM (Standard Days Method): The Standard day’s method is a scientifically tested natural fertility awareness method based on family planning. This process is particularly based on the menstrual cycle of the woman. In this method, the couple usually identifies the days in which the woman has high chances of getting pregnant and they have intercourse accordingly.

OCPs (Oral contraceptive pills): OCPs are essentially pills that contain several natural female hormones. These pills prevent the sperm of the man from linking with the eggs in the woman’s body or prevent the release of eggs in the woman’s body temporarily.

Family planning benefits for mother

There are several benefits of efficient family planning, especially for the mother. 

• Proper family planning allows the woman to breastfeed her newborn child for a longer period thereby reducing the chances of breast or ovarian cancer. 
• The mother gets sufficient time to take care of her baby.
• Family planning lowers the death risks due to complications during childbirth and pregnancy.
• Proper family planning involves suitable spacing between having children which provides the mother with sufficient time to get emotionally, mentally, and physically be prepared for the next pregnancy. 
• Family planning lowers the risks associated with stillbirth, miscarriage, and preterm delivery.
• The woman has more time for her existing child, her husband as well as herself.

• Conclusion

  The overall article has been written on the core topic of family planning. The concept of family planning is very important for couples as well as individuals and involves the spacing of the children that a woman is going to have. This main topic has been discussed through proper discussion of Family planning definition, family planning methods, and family planning benefits.