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Reproductive Health, Reproductive Health, It is defined as the total well being in all aspects of reproduction., ●, , India as a country ensures reproductive health to all, and since 1951,, successive governments have introduced a number of programmes to ensure, this, e.g., family planning and RCH (Reproductive and Child, Healthcare) programmes., , ●, , The aim of these programmes is to create awareness among people about, the various aspects of reproductive health., , ●, , Several audio-visual aids and pamphlets have been developed by both, governmental and non-governmental organisations., , ●, , Awareness is being created among school children by introducing sex, education in schools., , ●, , It is essential to provide medical assistance to people with problems related, to STDs, pregnancy, contraception and infertility, especially in villages., , ●, , Amniocentesis (foetal sex determination based on chromosomal pattern), has been banned to check female foeticide., , Population Explosion, ●, , Improvement in the quality of life due to all-round development (better, health facilities and improved conditions of living) has lead to a large, increase in the world population (around 1 billion in the year 2000)., , ●, , The causes of population explosion are:, ○, , Decline in death rate (including maternal mortality rate and infant, mortality rate), , ○, , Increase in the number of people in the reproducible age, , ●, , Population explosion causes a scarcity of every basic need., , ●, , Therefore, it has become essential to check this increase in population., , ●, , One-child norm, increasing the marriageable age and promoting, contraceptive methods are some of the ways to check population explosion., , Birth Control, ●, , It is essential to ensure birth control to check population explosion.

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●, , Successive governments have come out with various programmes that, encourage smaller families by means of various contraceptive methods., , ●, , Contraceptive methods are of two types:, ○, , Natural means of contraception, , ○, , Artificial means of contraception, , Natural Methods, ●, , Avoiding the coming together of ovum and sperm, ○, , Periodic abstinence:Avoiding coitus from days 10 to 17 of the, menstrual cycle, , ○, , Coitus interruptus: Withdrawal of penis before ejaculation, , ○, , Lactational amenorrhea: It is the absence of menstruation during, lactation. So, in the lactation period, the chances of conception are, almost zero., , Artificial Methods, ●, , Physically preventing the coming together of ovum and sperm, ○, , Barriers: Include condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps and vaults, , ○, , Intra uterine devices (IUDs): They release hormones to cause, phagocytosis of sperms, or they release copper ions to decrease sperm, motility., , ○, , Oral contraceptive pills: They contain hormones—either progesterone or, progesterone− oestrogen combination., , ○, , Surgical methods: Include vasectomy (removal of a part of the vas, deferens in males) and tubectomy (removal of a part of the fallopian, tubes in females), , Medical Termination of Pregnancy & Sexually, Transmitted Diseases, Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP), ●, , Intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before the full term, , ●, , Also called induced abortion, , ●, , Has a role in decreasing population; becomes essential when continued, pregnancy may prove to be fatal to the mother, foetus or to both, , ●, , In India, MTP is legal, but with certain strict conditions so as to prevent, female foeticide.

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●, , But in some places, MTP is used with amniocentesis, and when the foetus is, female, it is aborted. Such practices can prove to be fatal to the mother as, well., , Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), ●, , Diseases which are transmitted sexually are called STDs., , ●, , Also called venereal diseases (VD) or reproductive tract infections (RTI), , ●, , Some of the STDs are:, ○, , Gonorrhoea, , ○, , Syphilis, , ○, , Chlamydiasis, , ○, , Genital herpes, , ○, , Genital warts, , ○, , Trichomoniasis, , ○, , Hepatitis-B, , ○, , AIDS (can also be transmitted by sharing injection needles or surgical, instruments, blood transfusion, and from the infected mother to the, foetus ), , ●, , With the exception of AIDS, genital herpes and hepatitis-B, other diseases, are curable., , ●, , When not detected and treated in time, they can lead to pelvic inflammatory, diseases, abortions, still births, ectopic pregnancies, infertility and even, cancer., , ●, , Therefore, prevention, and timely detection and cure of these diseases are, essential to ensure reproductive health., , ●, , Some of the preventive measures are:, ○, , Avoiding sex with unknown/multiple partners, , ○, , Use of condoms, , ○, , To check with a doctor when in doubt, , Infertility, ●, , Many couples all over the world are unable to produce children., , ●, , Some of the reasons for infertility are:, , ●, , ○, , Congenital diseases, , ○, , Drugs, , ○, , Immunological and Psychological factors, , Specialised fertility clinics can help diagnose and treat infertility.

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●, , The couples can be assisted to have children through techniques called, assisted reproductive technologies (ART)., , Assisted Reproductive Technologies, ●, , In vitro fertilisation (IVF): Fertilisation takes place outside the body (test, tube baby). The following techniques are included in IVF., ○, , ZIFT − It stands for zygote intra fallopian transfer. In ZIFT, the sperm from a, donor male and the ova from a donor female are fused in the laboratory. The, zygote so formed is transferred into the fallopian tube at the 8 blastomeres stage., , ○, , IUT − It stands for intra uterine transfer. In this technique, embryos with more, than 8 blastomeres are transferred into the uterus., , ○, , GIFT − It stands for gamete intra fallopian transfer. In GIFT, females who cannot, produce ovum, but can provide suitable conditions for the fertilisation of ovum,, are provided with ovum from a donor., , ○, , ICSI − It stands for intra cytoplasmic sperm injection. In this method, sperm is, directly injected into the cytoplasm of the ovum., , ○, , Artificial insemination − In this technique, the semen collected from the, husband or a donor is injected into the vagina or uterus. This cures the infertility, arising from the inability of the male partner to ejaculate, or due to low sperm, count.