An expert committee of WHO defined family planning as A way of thinking & living that is adapted voluntarily, upon the

e basis of the knowledge, attitudes & responsible decisions by individuals & couples, in order to promote the health & welfare of the family group & thus contribute effectively to the social development of the country.

 Another expert committee defined and described family planning as family planning refers to practices that help individuals or couples to attain certain objectives To avoid unwanted births To bring about wanted births To regulate the intervals between pregnancies To control the time at which births occur in relation to the ages of the parent and

FAMILY PLANNING
A program to regulate the number and spacing of children in a family through the practice of contraception or other methods of birth control. The prevention of unintended pregnancies has a positive effect on the improvement of birth outcomes. In addition, family planning information, education and services reduce both the incidence and impact of sexually

The program is anchored on the following basic principles: Responsible Parenthood - which means that each family has the right and duty to determine the desired number of children they might have and when they might have them. Responsible Parenting which is the proper upbringing and education of children so that they grow up to be upright, productive and civic-minded citizens.

Basic human rights:

The united nations conference on human rights at teheran in 1968 recognized family planning as a basic human right The bucharest conference on the world population endorsed the same view and stated in its plan of action that all couples and individuals have the basic human right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information,education and means to do

 The world conference of the international womens year in 1975 also declared the right of women to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information and means to enable them to exercise that right :

Scope of family planning services:

The proper spacing and limitation of births Advise on sterility Education for parenthood Sex education Screening for pathological conditions related to the reproductive systemcervical cancer Genetic counseling

 Carrying out pregnancy tests Marriage counseling The preparation of couples for the arrival of their first child Providing services for unmarried mothers Teaching home economics and nutrition and Providing adoption services

HEALTH ASPECTS OF F AMILY PLANNING: a two way Family planning and health have
relationship. The principal health outcomes of family planning are. WOMENS HEALTH: maternal mortality, morbidity of women of child bearing age, nutritional status, preventable complications of pregnancy and abortion FOETAL HEALTH : foetal mortality, abnormal development. INFANT AND CHILD HEALTH: neonatal , infant

WOMENS HEALTH:
The avoidance of unwanted pregnancies Limiting the number of births and proper spacing Timing the births, particularly the first and last, in relation to the age of the mother.

FOETAL HEALTH:
Congenital anomalies-downs syndrome, associated with advancing maternal age

CHILD HEALTH:
FAMILY SIZE AND BIRTH SPACING Child mortality Child growth, development and nutrition Infectious diseases

THE WELFARE CONCEPT

MISCONCEPTIONS: control sterilization, birth

THE CONCEPT OF WELFARE: is very comprehensive and is basically related to quality of life The family welfare programme aims at achieving a higher end-that is , to improve the quality of life of the people

ELIGIBLE COUPLE:
An eligible couple refers to a currently married couple wherein the wife is in the reproductive age, which is generally assumed to lie between the ages of 15 and 45 There will be at least 150-180 such couples per 1000 population in India- are in need of family planning services The eligible couple register is a basic document for organizing family planning work

TARGET COUPLE:
Couples who have had 2-3 living children , and family planning was largely directed to such couples Families with one child or even newly married couples with a view to acceptance of the idea of family planning from the earliest possible stage The term target couple has lost its original meaning, the term eligible couple is now more widely used .