Reproductive health

• Problems of reproductive health

  • STD
  • population explosion
  • infertility
• strategies

  • family planning
  • reproductive and child health care programme
  • sex education in school programme
  • knowledge about birth control devices
  • prenatal and postnatal care of mother
  • research in reproductive health should be encouraged by government organisation
  • Statuotary check female foeticides need to be implemented
• abstitence - no intercourse
• Coitus Interruptus - withdrawal method
• LAM - lactation amenorrhea method
• IUD - intrauterine devices
• MMR - Maternal Mortality Rate
• IMR - Infant Mortality Rate
• According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), reproductive health means a total well-being in all aspects of reproduction, i.e., physical, emotional, behavioural and social
• India was amongst the first countries in the world to initiate action plans and programmes at a national level to attain total reproductive health as a social goal. These are popularly termed as Reproductive and child healthcare (RCH) programmes.
• Strategies to achieve total reproductive health

  • Family Planning
  • Awareness about reproduction and social evils
  • Sex-Education
  • Infrastructural facilities and material support
• Family Planning


  Keeping in view the concerns of reproductive health, Government of India initiate Family Planning programme in 1951 and 'Reproductive and Child Healthcare' programme (RCH) in 1997
• Awareness about reproduction and social evils


  Government and non-government agencies have taken various steps to create awareness about consequences of uncontrolled population growth, social evils like sex abuse, sex related crimes etc
• Sex-Education


  Introduction of sex- education in schools and colleges is another step to provide right information to the youth. Sex education save the young people from myths and misconceptions about sex related issues.
• Infrastructural facilities and material support


  Medical assistance be provided and people should be cared in reproduction related problems like pregnancy, delivery. STDS, abortions, menstrual problems etc. Implementation of better techniques and new strategies from time to time is also required to provide more efficient care and assistance to people.
• The rapid increase in population over a relatively shorter period of time is referred to as population explosion
• Steps to control population explosion

  • Educating people about the advantages of small family
  • Raising the marriageable age of male to 23 years
  • Motivating couples of reproductive age to adopt birth control
• Birth Control


  The regulation of conception by preventive methods or devices to limit the number of offspring
• Contraceptive methods

  • Natural or traditional methods
  • Barrier methods
  • IUD
  • Oral contraceptive pills
  • Injectable and Implants
  • Surgical methods (Sterilization)
• Natural Methods


  Works on the principle of avoiding chances of ovum and sperm meeting. Includes periodic abstinence, withdrawal, and lactational amenorrhea
• Barrier Methods


  No medicines or devices are used, so side effects are almost nil. Includes condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps and vaults
• Chemical methods


  Spermicidal creams, jellies and foams are usually used along with barrier methods to increase their contraceptive efficiency
• IUD (Intra Uterine Contraceptive Devices)

  Inserted by doctors in the uterus through the vagina, which increases the phagocytosis of sperms within the uterus. Includes non-medicated, hormone-releasing, and copper-releasing IUDs
• Oral contraceptive pills

  Small doses of progesterone or progesterone-estrogen combinations are used by females in the form of tablets, which prevent ovulation and implantation
• Injectable and Implants

  Progestogens or combinations of progestogens and estrogen can be used by females as injections or implants under the skin
• Emergency contraceptives

  Hormonal pills taken within 72 hours of coitus to avoid possible pregnancy due to rape or casual intercourse
• Surgical methods (Sterilization)

  Vasectomy in males and tubectomy in females, where a small part of the vas deferens or fallopian tube is removed or tied up
• Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) or induced abortion is the intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before term
• MTP was legalised in India in 1971 with some strict conditions to avoid its misuse
• MTPs are considered relatively safe during the first trimester i.e. upto 12 weeks of pregnancy. Second trimester abortions are much more riskier
• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are infections or diseases which are transmitted through sexual contact
• Timely detection and proper treatment of STIs are important as they can lead to pelvic inflammatory diseases, abortions, ectopic pregnancies, infertility and even cancer of the reproductive tract
• The incidences of STIs are reported to be very high among persons in the age group of 15-24 years
• Ways to avoid STIs

  • Avoid sex with unknown/multiple partners
  • Always use condoms during coitus
  • Get complete treatment if diagnosed with infection
• Infertility


  The couples which are unable to produce children inspite of unprotected sexual cohabitation are considered infertile
• Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)


  • In vitro fertilization (IVF)
  • Zygote intra fallopian transfer (ZIFT)
  • Gamete intra fallopian transfer (GIFT)
  • Intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
  • Artificial insemination
• All these ART techniques require extremely high precision handling by specialized professionals and expensive instruments. Therefore, their benefits are limited to certain countries and people.
• Emotional, religious and social factors also prevent the adoption of these ART methods
• STD - Sexually transmitted diseases
• ANC - Antenatal Care