By IANS,
New Delhi: The government is ready to reposition its family planning strategy by “focusing on maternal health” and not just population control, an official from health and family welfare ministry said here Monday.
“The government wants to reposition the approach towards family planning by focusing on the health of the mother and the child. It is a part of our strategy to bring down the maternal mortality rate in the country,” said Kiran Ambwani, deputy commissioner, family planning division, in the ministry.
“The broader perspective is to stagger the population momentum by increasing the time space between children,” Ambwani said at the launch of second phase of “Pehel”, a project to help women on birth control through intra-uterine devices (IUDs).
IUD, a form of birth control where a T-shaped object is inserted in the uterus, is considered to be a quick and safe way to prevent pregnancy.
“Under Pehel first phase, we have placed nearly 55,000 IUDs for women located in urban slum districts in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. Phase two is expected to see over one lakh IUDs helping women with birth control,” said Jyoti Vajpaee, senior technical advisor, Population Services International (PSI) India.
The project, a partnership between voluntary organisations Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecological Society of India (FOGSI) and PSI, provides IUDs and counselling in urban slums.