Abortion and Family Planning
Abortion, the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability (in human beings, usually about the 20th week of gestation). An abortion may occur spontaneously, in which case it is also called a miscarriage, or it may be brought on purposefully, in which case it is often called an induced abortion.
Spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages, occur for many reasons, including disease, trauma, genetic defect, or biochemical incompatibility of mother and fetus. Occasionally a fetus dies in the uterus but fails to be expelled, a condition termed a missed abortion.
Family Planning
Family planning is one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. The availability of family planning services allows individuals to achieve desired birth spacing and family size, and contributes to improved health outcomes for infants, children, women, and families.
Family planning services include :
- Contraceptive services (Injection DMPA, Coprty)
- Tubal Ligation open and laparoscopic in female partner
Medical & Surgical Termination of Pregnancy
Reasons to Choose a Suction Curettage (Surgical) Abortion
- It requires fewer office visits
- The procedure takes a short amount of time
- It is more effective than medical abortion (less risk of an incomplete procedure)
- Women usually do not have heavy bleeding at home
Reasons to choose a medical abortion
- It can be used in the earliest weeks of pregnancy
- It requires no surgery
- It requires no anesthesia
- It has the potential for greater privacy
- Some women feel it gives them greater control over their bodies
- It may feel more “natural” for some women
Contraceptive Counseling
Improving the quality of contraceptive counseling is one strategy to prevent unintended pregnancy. We identify aspects of relational and task-oriented communication in family planning care that can assist providers in meeting their patients’ needs. Approaches to optimizing women’s experiences of contraceptive counseling include working to develop a close, trusting relationship with patients and using a shared decision-making approach that focuses on eliciting and responding to patient preferences. Providing counseling about side effects and using strategies to promote contraceptive continuation and adherence can also help optimize women’s use of contraception.
