By IANS,
New Delhi : With nearly 21 percent of pregnancies in India unintended, a federation of gynaecologists and an NGO have come together to increase awareness on family planning and safe abortion among the urban poor in three states, including Delhi.
Population Services International (PSI), an NGO, has partnered for improving maternal health with the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), said Jyoti Vajpayee, PSI’s senior technical advisor.
PSI, which works in the area of health, including among the HIV patients, maternal and child health in 22 states, will be starting this initiative at places with high population, poor indicators and high need.
“These states are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi,” Vajpayee told IANS.
Apart from focusing on maternal health, they will also be providing Copper Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCDs) as a safe, effective and reversible option for family planning. IUCD is commonly known as Copper-T.
“We want to create a service delivery network to improve access to affordable and high quality IUCD services and products to low and middle income groups and complement family planning efforts of the government,” she added.
She said they are providing an IUCD called Freedom Five at an highly subsidised cost of Rs.75. In the market, it costs Rs.250.
“Since many women like to avail family planning services from private providers, the potential of such providers located near areas where the urban poor reside, can be harnessed to address their needs,” she said.
Vajpayee said that evidence has long endorsed the IUCD as a long term, highly effective and reversible contraceptive method.
“The contraceptive effectiveness of the IUCD is very high and is comparable to that of male and female sterilization,” she added.
“It is a long-term method as it prevents pregnancy for three, five or 10 years depending on the type of IUCD inserted. As it is reversible, the IUCD has the potential to satisfy family planning needs of women who want to end childbearing, as well as those who wish to postpone childbearing for some time,” she said.
In India, 117,000 women die every year from complications arising out of pregnancy and childbirth, while many more suffer debilitating complications.
“Family planning is central to reduction of maternal mortality and ill health by reducing the number of pregnancies, unsafe abortions and high risk births,” she stressed.
Quoting the National Family Health Survey-3 (2005-06), Vajpayee said that it shows that nearly 21 percent of all pregnancies are either unintended or mistimed.
It also states that 13 percent of married women want to postpone their next pregnancy or stop having children altogether but for whatever reason are not using contraception.
“Thus, it becomes vital that quality family planning services are made available to lower income groups in urban areas, who are largely underserved in terms of quality health care,” Vajpayee told IANS.
C.N. Purandare, the president of FOGSI, said: “Family planning is helpful in saving lives of women and children lives because it prevents untimely and unintended pregnancy. Reduces women’s exposure to the health risks of unsafe childbirth and abortion and lessens the health risks associated with pregnancies that are early, closely spaced or very late.”
The FOGSI has 24,800 members and have worked on anaemia eradications, adolescent health and save the girl child initiatives in the country.