India was the first country in the world to have launched a National Programme for Family Planning in 1952. With its historic initiation in 1952

Family planning is about deciding how many children you choose to have and when you want to have them (timing of pregnancies and birth spacing). The recommended interval before attempting the next pregnancy is at least 24 months in order to reduce risks to the mother and infant.

One should begin discussing family planning during pregnancy, We at the best women NGO in Dehradun provide family planning services through the Urban Primary Health Centre supported by National Urban Health Mission particularly during the third trimester, after birth and in the immediate postpartum period. Pregnant women need to know that if they are not exclusively breastfeeding they can get pregnant as soon as four weeks after the birth of their baby, even if they have not yet started their menstrual cycle. Several methods of family planning can be started immediately after birth, but others may need to be delayed if the woman is breast feeding.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BIRTH SPACING AND FAMILY PLANNING

• Delaying having children can give people the opportunity to complete education or further studies
• Waiting to become pregnant at least 24 months after birth can lead to health benefits for the mother and baby.
• Spacing births allows the mother to recover physically and emotionally before she gets pregnant again, and faces the demands of pregnancy, birth and breast feeding.
• Limiting the number of children in a family means more resources for each child and more time for the parents to dedicate to each child.
• Family planning can also help couples in a sexual relationship not to be worried about the woman getting pregnant.
• STIs including HIV/AIDS can also be prevented with correct and consistent use of condoms.
• Younger women (adolescents) can delay pregnancy until their bodies are mature and they are ready in terms of their life course.
• Older women (over 35) can prevent unwanted pregnancies that are often risky for their health and can lead to complications for both mothers and infants.