"Family Planning.

"
2 What Is Family Planning?
Having the number of children you want, when you want them.

3 If a person wants to wait to have children or to decide when to have children, there are
many ways to prevent pregnancy 

4 Both men and women must take part in family planning

Who Does It? Both men and women must take part in family planning

5 In America, many people use family planning and control when they have children 
6 All of the family planning methods we will talk about are used safely by millions of
women and men 

7 Reasons for choosing smaller families 

8 Pregnancy is Risky! Mothers and babies will be healthier because fewer pregnancies
means less risks

9 More Food Fewer children means more food for each child
10 More Time Fewer children can mean more time for parents to spend with their children
11 Education Waiting to have children can give women and men time to finish their
education

12 Why is family planning hard?

Some people want to have large familiesA woman’s husband might not want her to use
family planningIt’s not accepted by some religionsA person might be afraid that others will
think they’re having sex with someone other than their husband or wife if they are using
protection

13 A person has the right to decide how many children they want to have
It’s A Right!A person has the right to decide how many children they want to have

14 It’s a Right!A woman has the right to protect her health from the risks of pregnancy
15 What if a woman’s husband says NO?
She must decide if she will use family planning anywaySome methods of family planning
can be used without the man knowing

16 Preventing Pregnancy 
17 A Pregnancy Happens When…
After a man ejaculates inside a woman, the man’s sperm and the woman’s egg join together
to make a zygote.When the zygote attaches to the side of a woman’s womb, a pregnancy
begins.

18 There are several methods of family planning

Barrier MethodsHormonal MethodsIUDs (Intrauterine Devices)Natural MethodsPermanent
MethodsAll of these methods (EXCEPT FOR PERMANENT METHODS) can be stopped at
ANY time if a woman decides to get pregnant or if she decides to try a different method of
family planning

19 Barrier methods work by physically preventing the man’s sperm from joining with
the woman’s egg 

20 Condoms An example of a barrier method

Can be bought at the store or at a clinic or an agencyThe ONLY method of family planning
that also protects against diseases

21 Hormones and Hormonal Methods

Hormones are chemicals in the body.Men and women have different hormones.It is
hormones that make men grow mustaches and women grow breasts.Hormones also
determine when a woman can get pregnant (when she is “fertile”) by getting her body ready
for pregnancy.

22 Hormonal MethodsWhen a woman uses a hormonal method of family planning, she

puts hormones in her body that prevent her from getting pregnant by:Preventing her body
from releasing an eggMaking it harder for the sperm to reach the eggKeeping the egg from
sticking inside the womb

23 A woman needs to see a doctor to get a hormonal method! 

24 Hormonal Methods The Pill
Woman takes one pill every day at the same timeThe PatchWoman wears on her skin and
changes once a week

25 Hormonal Methods Implants Inserted into the woman’s arm by a doctor

Work for up to 3 yearsThe ShotWoman gets a shot every 3 months

26 Intrauterine Device: IUD

Put into the womb by a doctorCan last for 5 or 10 yearsCan be removed when the woman
decides she wants to get pregnant or at any other time

27 Natural MethodsNatural methods help a woman know when she is fertile, so that she
can avoid having sex at that time.A woman is usually fertile during the middle days of her
monthly bleeding cycleA woman is usually NOT fertile when she is breastfeeding for the first
6 months after her baby is born
28 Breastfeeding as a family planning method works only if:
The baby is less than 6 months oldThe woman breastfeeds the baby every 6 hours and the
baby eats no other foodHer monthly bleeding cycle hasn’t started yet

29 Permanent MethodsA doctor makes it impossible for men and women to have any more
childrenThe operation for a man is called a VASECTOMYThe operation for a woman is
called a TUBAL LIGATION

30 Vasectomy and Tubal Ligation

DO NOT make sex any less pleasurable for men or womenDO NOT make sex any less
desirable for men or womanMen are still able ejaculate, but the ejaculate liquid does not
have sperm

31 Withdrawal or “Pulling Out”

The man pulls his penis out of the vagina before he ejaculatesThis is NOT a very good
method BUT it is better than not using any method of family planning at all

32 Methods That Do NOT Work

Washing out the vagina(“douching”)Urinating after sexDoes NOT prevent pregnancy BUT it
can help prevent some infectionsSperm move too fast and will reach the womb before they
can be washed out

33 Emergency Family Planning

If a man and a woman have sex without using any method of family planning, there are pills
that a woman can take AFTERWARDS to prevent pregnancy, called “Emergency
Contraception”

34 Emergency Family Planning

A woman must take the pills within 5 days after sexEmergency family planning is most
effective within 3 days after sexOnly effective if used soon after having sex.They are not as
effective as consistent use of the other family planning methods talked aboutThey are safe
but can cause unpleasant side effects.This should not be used in place of other
methodsYou can get the pills after seeing a doctor or if you are over 18 years old you may
get them at a pharmacy without seeing a doctor.

35 Emergency Family Planning

These pills PREVENT pregnancy, they DO NOT stop a pregnancy if the woman is already
pregnant

36 Where to get it?A person can buy CONDOMS at most stores. They can get them for
free at some clinics.A person can get EMERGENCY FAMILY PLANNING at a pharmacy (if
they are older than 17 years old)

37 Where to Get it?To get any of the other methods of family planning, a person has to call
their doctorIf a woman is younger than 17 years old, she has to call her doctor to get
emergency family planning.
CONCLUSION
By using contraception, couples may think that they are avoiding problems or easing
tensions, that they are exerting control over their lives. But the gift of being able to help
create another person, a new human being with his or her own life, involves profound
relationships. It affects our relationship with God, who created us complete with this
powerful gift. It involves whether spouses will truly love and accept each other as they are,
including their gift of fertility.

Finally, it involves the way spouses will spontaneously accept their child as a gift from God
and the fruit of their mutual love. Like all important relationships with other persons, it is not
subject solely to our individual control. In the end, this gift is far richer and more rewarding
than that.

The Church’s teaching on marital sexuality is an invitation for men and women—an
invitation to let God be God, to receive the gift of God’s love and care, and to let this gift
inform and transform us, so we may share that love with each other and with the world.