Family
Planning
Benefits of Family Planning
197
Having the number of children you want, when you want
them, is called family planning. If you decide to wait to
have children, you can choose one of several methods to
prevent pregnancy. These methods are called family planning
methods, child spacing methods, or contraception.
Every year, half a million women die of problems from
pregnancy, childbir th, and unsafe abortion. Most of these deaths
could be prevented by family planning. For example, family
planning can prevent dangers from pregnancies that are:
• too soon. Women under the age of 18 are more likely to
die in childbirth because their bodies are not fully grown.
Their babies have a greater chance of dying in the first
year.
• too late. Older women face more danger in child bearing,
especially if they have other health problems or have had
many children.
• too close. A woman’s body needs time to recover
between pregnancies.
• too many. A woman with more than 4 children has a
greater risk of death after childbirth from bleeding and
other causes.
➤ Family planning
saves lives.
Benefits of
Family
Planning
➤ In poor countries
about half of all
deaths in women of
child-bearing age are
caused by problems
of pregnancy and
childbirth. Family
planning prevents
these pregnancies
and deaths.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012