The L0T3K Magazine

Is Family Planning Important?

Family planning is an outline for your family’s future. It focuses on the best time to have children, and prepares you for the necessary changes you will face. It also provides you with the necessary confidence to face these changes successfully.

Significance

Planning allows adequate time to prepare for the new adjustment of a family, both mentally and financially. Deciding the best time to start your family allows you to plan around education and employment commitments. It also gives you time to comprehend the changes you will face and make the necessary adjustments in your home, vehicle, and time away from work.

Complications

More than 500,000 women die annually from pregnancy complications according to UNICEF. The American Pregnancy Association adds that at least 875,000 women have at least 1 pregnancy complication. Studies from Family Health International indicate that women who become pregnant in their 20s have a higher success rate and fewer complications than women who wait. Limiting the amount of pregnancies and planning the timing of them could result in less complication and fatality.

Abortion Prevention

According to the FOX News, 1.6 million abortions take place in the United States annually as of 2003. 1.5 of these abortions are the result of unwanted pregnancies. The use of proper contraceptive along with structured planning could prevent many of these abortions.

Unwanted Pregnancy

There are 400,000 unwanted births in the United States each year according to UNICEF. Approximately 266,666 children were born an unexpected time, and the remaining was unwanted entirely. (Reference 1) While many of these children still would have been born, planning their timing would have provided the parents with more preparation and time to place prior commitments aside.

Population Control

According to the CDC, there were 4,317,119 births in 2007 alone. This was the highest amount ever recorded. If this continues, the 2010 population of 3.7 will be over 293 million by 2030 according to the Census bureau. Overpopulation affects jobs, housing, health care, and the environment.

UNICEF – Health – Maternal Health UNICEF
Statistics: American Pregnancy Association American Pregnancy Association
NVSS: Birth Data Center For Disease Control
FOXNews – Fast Facts: U.S. Abortion Statistics FOXNews
FHI – The Importance of Family Planning and Reducing Maternal Mortality Family Health International
Poverty and Population Growth: Lessons From Our Own Past Global Issues