Planning families, enjoying love

The courtship stage with flowers and chocolates is the easy part. As couples begin their lives together, they soon realize that adjustments need to be made in the way they think and act to make the union endure. Personal compulsions may need to be forfeited, so that “we” takes precedence over “me.” And as the emotional and financial responsibility of having children is thrown into the equation, couples need to work hard to make their families  strong. For contemporary couples, the decision of when to have children is important because both parties need to balance family, profession and their individual needs. A conscious decision on the number and spacing of children allows partners enough time to adjust to the requirements of a growing family.

Also known as birth control, family planning pertains to limiting the number of children or planning the timing of pregnancy. Responsible family planning does not only protect women’s health from risk and trauma of unwanted pregnancies and abortions; it also provides social and financial benefits for their families and communities. Achieved either through abstinence or reliable contraception, family planning is a choice that responsible couples must seriously examine.

While abstinence or “traditional” methods are an option, families with a large number of “unplanned” children are proof that certain couples with a resolution to stay abstinent cannot do so; and that traditional family planing methods need exacting discipline to succeed. Thus, hormonal preparations for female contraception present a more reliable alternative.

Oral contraceptives, also known as “the pill” are a safe, reliable (with 97-99.8 percent effectiveness) and reversible form of contraception. Worldwide, they protect more than 80 million women from unplanned pregnancy. However, despite the pill’s  availability, a study entitled “An Updated Estimate in International Family Planning Perspectives” says that 123 million women worldwide do not use contraceptives or use less reliable contraceptive methods. This is due to various reasons including a lack of information about contraception, religious and cultural beliefs, economic situation of users, and myths/fear of complications. Likewise, side effects (such as water retention, weight gain and acne) encountered while using oral contraceptives result in discontinued use and unwanted pregnancy.

The result of non-contraceptive use and consequent unwanted pregnancies is saddening. Data from the Alan Gutmacher Institute shows that an estimated 46 million abortions are carried out each year. Of these, 20 million are clandestine abortions and are generally unsafe. Asia accounts for 58 percent of the world’s number of abortions in 1995 (27 million). Overall abortion rate in Asian women during the childbearing age of 15-44 is as high as 33 per 1,000 and the region was identified to have the highest number of unsafe abortions in the world, at 10.5 million, in 1995.

In the Philippines where news reports feature aborted fetuses left in churches, flushed in toilet bowls or thrown in canals, there is a continuous need to educate the citizenry about family planning and contraception. This is not only to stem the illegal practice of abortionists who carry out dangerous operations, it is also to spare women from the psychological and social burdens that come with having an abortion or unwanted pregnancy.

For the majority of women who decide to have their babies, unplanned pregnancies may cause tension in the home. Meager financial resources will need to be stretched, relationships with spouses may become strained, and too many children may lead to their neglect. We have too often heard of children needing to work to be able to help put food on the family’s dining table and of men or women abandoning their families after being overwhelmed by the responsibility of providing for numerous children.

Most significantly, the health of women who have unplanned pregnancies too fast and too often may be compromised. Since poor maternal health means a diminished ability of a mother to care for children, the quality of family life also suffers. And thus, reliable methods of family planning are undoubtedly a means towards enjoying responsible parenthood.

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Bayer Schering Pharma is the world’s largest and most innovative company in the field of contraception today. Ask your doctor about its low dose, monophasic combined oral contraceptive containing DRSP that creates added health benefits such as preventing water retention-induced weight gain, improvement of menstrual symptoms and positive effects on skin and hair, thereby improving women’s quality of life.