Chapter 27
Family Planning Methods
Family planning involves the use of various methods to prevent unwanted pregancies and for
child spacing. A couple may need to choose a suitable method of family planning just before
they get married or later on in their family life.
Before we learn about the various family planning methods, let us learn a little more about the
physiology of the female body.
Physiology of the Female Body
Menstruation
Menstruation is the process of discharging blood and other materials from the lining of the
uterus in a mature, non-pregnant woman at the end of each menstrual cycle.
The purpose of the menstrual cycle is to prepare the uterus to receive a fertilized egg. Every
month, one of the ovaries discharges an egg, which is carried along the fallopian tube to the
uterus. It may remain in the fallopian tube for 24 - 48 hours and during this time, it may become
fertilized.
In preparation for this monthly release of the egg, the tissue lining the womb––the
endometrium, becomes thick and its blood supply increases. If the egg is not fertilized, the
endometrium breaks down and blood loss occurs leading to menstruation (or the menses or
period). Contractions of the muscles of the womb get rid of this tissue together with the
unfertilized egg, if pregnancy does not occur. Sometimes the pain of these contractions is severe
and it is known as dysmenorrhoea.
Menstrual bleeding usually lasts four to six days. Following this, the tissues are repaired. This
is followed by the build up of the endometrium again. The whole menstrual cycle lasts about
twenty-eight days. If fertilization of the egg occurs, leading to pregnancy, the woman’s periods
stop until after the child is born. (Sometimes her periods may not begin again for a few months
after the baby is born.)
Medical attention should be sought in the case where normal monthly menstrual bleeding has