Family Planning Guidance
Family Planning Guidance
Birth spacing and postpartum family planning
Family planning is about deciding how many children you choose to have and when you want to have them (timing of pregnancies and birth spacing). The recommended interval before attempting the next pregnancy is at least 24 months in order to reduce risks to the mother and infant. A woman can become pregnant within several weeks after birth if she has sexual relations and if she is not breastfeeding exclusively. It is important that as a health worker you discuss the importance of family planning and birth spacing, and help couples in choosing the contraceptive method that is right for them.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BIRTH SPACING AND FAMILY PLANNING
- Delaying having children can give people the opportunity to complete education or further studies.
- Waiting to become pregnant at least 24 months after birth can lead to health benefits for the mother and baby.
- Spacing births allows the mother to recover physically and emotionally before she gets pregnant again, and faces the demands of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.
- Limiting the number of children in a family means more resources for each child and more time for the parents to dedicate to each child.
- Family planning can also help couples in a sexual relationship not to be worried about the woman getting pregnant.
- STIs including HIV/AIDS can also be prevented with correct and consistent use of condoms.
- Younger women (adolescents) can delay pregnancy until their bodies are mature and they are ready in terms of their life course.
- Older women (over 35) can prevent unwanted pregnancies that are often risky for their health and can lead to complications for both mothers and infants.