Title: Family planning -- having the number of children you want.

POPLINE Document Number: 314789

Author(s):

Werner D
Thuman C
Maxwell J

Source citation:

In: Where there is no doctor: a village health care handbook, by David Werner with Carol Thuman and Jane Maxwell. Berkeley, California, Hesperian, 2006. :283-294.

Abstract:

Some mothers and fathers want a lot of children--especially in countries where poor people are denied a fair share of land, resources, and social benefits. This is because children help with work and provide care for their parents in old age. In such areas, having just a few children may be a privilege only wealthier people can afford. The situation is different in poor countries where resources and benefits are fairly distributed. Where employment, housing, and health care are guaranteed and where women have equal opportunities for education and jobs, people usually choose to have smaller families. This is in part because they do not need to depend on their children for economic security. In any society, parents have a right to make their own decision about how many children to have, and when to have them. Different parents have different reasons for wanting to limit the size of their family. Some young parents may decide to delay having any children until they have worked and saved enough so that they can afford to care for them well. Some parents may decide that a small number of children is enough, and they never want more. Others may want to space their children several years apart, so that both the children and their mother will be healthier. Some parents feel they are too old to have more children. In some places, men and women know that if they have a lot of children, when the children grow up there may not be enough land for all of them to grow the food their families need. (excerpt)

Keywords:

Developing Countries
Teaching Materials
Family Planning Acceptors
Low Income Population
Family Size, Desired
Family Planning Education
Contraceptive Methods
Contraceptive Effectiveness
Side Effects
Oral Contraceptives, Contraindications
Family Planning, Traditional Methods
Family Planning Programs
Family Planning
Social Class
Socioeconomic Status
Socioeconomic Factors
Economic Factors
Family Size
Family Characteristics
Family and Household
Sociocultural Factors
Education
Contraception
Treatment
Medical Procedures
Medicine
Health Services
Delivery of Health Care
Health
Contraceptive Safety
Safety
Public Health