Plan for a family

Discuss with your spouse when you would like to have children and how many you should aim for.

When you plan to have a baby, you should seek genetic counseling if:
• You or your partner have a birth defect or genetic disease
• You or your partner have a child, parent or close relative with a birth defect, genetic disease or mental retardation
• You or your partner are a carrier of a genetic disease, e.g. you have the thalassemia trait
• You are a woman above 35 years of age
• You are a woman who has had 3 or more miscarriages or still births

Contraception

Family planning also involves preventing unwanted pregnancies if you and your spouse are not yet ready for a child.

Some Methods Of Contraception:

1. Condoms

A condom is made of a thin sheath of rubber and is worn over the penis during sexual intercourse. When worn before vaginal penetration, the condom prevents sperm from entering the vagina and fertilizing the egg. They should preferably be used together with a spermicide.

2. Spermicides

Spermicides are chemicals that kill sperm. They come in the form of a cream, jelly, vaginal foam or aerosol.

Spermicides need to be placed in the vaginal early enough before intercourse to be effective. They should be used together with a condom or diaphragm to be effective.

3. Oral Contraceptive

These pills are made of synthetic hormones that prevent ovulation. They have to be prescribed by a doctor and are safe and reliable if taken daily. However, some people may suffer from side effects if they take these pills.

4. Intra-Uterine Device (IUD)

This is a small device made of plastic and a copper coil that is inserted into the woman’s uterus by a doctor. It prevents pregnancy by stopping the implantation of the fertilized egg.

5. Rhythm Methods

The basic principle here is to avoid sexual intercourse during the woman’s fertile period. However, it is difficult to pinpoint these safe periods when there is little risk of pregnancy from intercourse. This is because women have different menstrual cycles and not all of them are regular. Therefore, Rhythm Methods like the Calendar method, Temperature method, and Mucous method may not be reliable for birth control due to the irregularities and discipline involved.

6. Sterilization

For the males, vasectomy involves surgically cutting the sperm ducts. For the females, tubal ligation involves tying and cutting or clipping the fallopian tubes to prevent the eggs from passing through.

These methods are permanent and should not be pursued until the couple has seriously considered and decided together that the family is complete.

7. Contraceptive Implants

These are synthetic hormones contained in a set of capsules (e.g. Norplant). They work by preventing ovulation and thickening the cervical mucus, which acts as a barrier to the sperm.

The capsules are inserted by a doctor under the skin of the woman’s arm under local anesthesia. This method is almost 100% effective, long acting and safe.