SS3 Biology Lesson Note on Family Planning

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FAMILY PLANNING.

In nature, population of living things grows exponentially until they meet with environmental resistance. Each population stabilizes at a certain size which can be supported by its habitats. The human population is however an exception to this usual situation. Through the effort of humans, the human population can be controlled through birth control and family planning. A couple can plan when to have children and when not to have children even if they have sexual intercourse.

Family planning is therefore the use of birth control methods to determine the number and timing of children born in the family.

Birth control methods are in four main groups.

1. Natural method
2. Mechanical Method
3. Chemical Method
4. Surgical Method

 Natural method:

• Rhythm methods: This is also known as safe-period method. It based on the fact that in every menstrual cycle, there is a fertile period when ovulation is most likely to occur. For pregnancy to be prevented, sexual intercourse is to be avoided during the period. The fertile period may be from the 12^th to the 16^th day from the beginning of menstruation. This method however is most unreliable as many other factors such as emotional stress and illness may alter the length of the menstrual cycle.
• Withdrawal method: this is also known as coitus interruptus. It involves the withdrawal of the penis from the vaginal just before ejaculation. This method is unreliable as some viable semen may enter the vagina before ejaculation.

Family Planning Class

A volunteer working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) gives a class in family planning to women in New Delhi, India. Family planning provides reproductive health services, contraception, and counseling on fertility control choices and is the principal method used for stabilizing population growth.

Mechanical methods:

• Condom: this is also known as a sheath. It is a thin rubber tube that is used to cover the erect penis before intercourse. A small teat at the end of the sheath collects the semen. If used properly, this method is quite reliable. It also helps to protect the user against diseases. The condom is impermeable and prevents germs from semen to set in contact with the vaginal wall and likewise germs from the vaginal wall of an infected female from entering the urethra of the male.
• Diaphragm: this is dome –shaped rubber cap with an elastic rim. It is inserted into the top of the vaginal and placed over the cervix, thus preventing sperms from getting into the uterus. A spermicidal cream may be used together with the cap to kill the sperms.
• Intra-uterine device (IUD): this is a coil or loop of plastic inserted into the uterus to prevent the implantation of the fertilised egg into the uterine wall.

Tubal Sterilization

Tubal sterilization, or female sterilization, is an operation to prevent pregnancy in which the fallopian tubes in the female reproductive system are closed off so that the eggs produced by the ovaries cannot be fertilized by sperm after sexual intercourse. Surgeons typically use a laparascope, a thin, hollow tube inserted via a tiny incision in the abdominal wall, in this procedure. The tubes may be closed off by a variety of methods including cauterization, searing the tubes closed with burning heat; clamping using plastic clips that remain in the body; constriction using a plastic band; or cutting away a section of the tube and tying off the severed ends.

Chemical methods:

• Spermicides: these are chemical agents which are used to kill sperms. They may be in the form of a cream, jelly, foam or tablet. The spermicides are placed high into the vagina before intercourse. When used in conjunction with the diaphragm or condom, it offer greater protection

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