Do You Often Think About Having Children?
Do you want to have children? Do you want the suburban home and an insane minivan? You get this question a lot. There is often a lot of focus on the question, but not the planning. It may be hard to think of children as something to plan for like you plan to buy a house, go on vacation, or attend college.
The reality is that planning to have children is almost necessary for your family’s future health and wellness.
What is Family Planning Counseling?
In short, family planning is what it sounds like, planning your family. What does that look like? You would sit down with your doctor or counselor and discuss
- How many children you would like to have
- When you would like to have them
- A safe and effective contraception method
Family planning sessions can be held individually, as a couple, or in a group.
What are the Benefits of Family Planning?
You may be surprised to learn that there are health benefits to planning your family, but many benefits exist for mothers and babies. So, what are the benefits?
- Delaying having children: Depending on your situation, children early on may not be ideal. Most people in their early 20s have not yet completed education, just completed, or still deciding what they want to do with their lives. So throwing a child in the mix could make things difficult.
Delaying having a child can give you time to:
- Complete education
- Earn enough money to care for a family
- Find the right partner
- Travel
- Find out who you are
- Spacing the time between births: Giving birth is incredibly physically demanding. It puts a ton of stress on your body, and your body will need time to heal inside and out. In addition, during pregnancy, hormone levels change your body changes in more ways than one.
Spacing the time between births gives your body time to heal before going through the birthing process again.
How long should you wait? It is recommended that women wait 24 months between births. This gives the mother time to recover physically and emotionally. This is also healthy for the baby because the mother has peace of mind after recovery.
- Reducing the number of children, you have: This is not a requirement. However, there are some benefits to limiting the number of children you have. Having fewer children allows parents to devote more time and effort to each child. Giving each child the proper time and attention is highly beneficial, as each child has unique needs.
However, having more children does not mean that their needs will not be met. With the proper tools, each child in a large family can have their unique physical and emotional needs met.
- Benefits for older women: Statistically, women over 35 are at increased risk of pregnancy complications. Before we continue, we want to stress that 35 is not old. Age is just a number, right? However, the risk of complications does increase for women over 35.
Pregnancy later in life can lead to complications for both the mother and the baby. Family planning for women over 35 allows women to avoid pregnancy if they do not conceive.
- Over 35 and wish to conceive? Thanks to modern medicine, many women 35 and older can safely conceive and give birth to healthy babies despite increased risks. There are options for women to convince safety at older ages, for example, freezing their eggs.
Consult with your doctor to ensure it is safe to conceive if you are 35 and older.
- Benefits for young women (adolescents): Much like older women, young women face increased risks during pregnancy and childbirth. In many cases, young women’s bodies need time to mature to handle the demands of pregnancy and childbirth.
Family planning can provide adolescents with the proper contraceptives to give them the time they need.
Family Planning Counseling near me?
Are you looking to plan your family? MYCHN offers family planning counseling services and contraception. Please visit our website or call (281) 824 -1480 to learn more.
Bottom Line
Family planning ideally should play a key role in your decision to have children. Furthermore, Family planning is beneficial whether you wish to have children or not. You can access the proper contraceptives if you do not want to become a parent.
If you do want to hear the pitter-patter of little feet and an exquisite minivan, family planning can help you map out a plan to ensure the health of you and your child(ren.)
Resources:
