Family Planning

Types of Family Planning

• Barrier methods prevent pregnancy by keeping the sperm from reaching the egg.
• Hormonal methods prevent the woman’s ovary from releasing an egg, make it harder for the sperm to reach the egg, and keep the lining of the womb from supporting a pregnancy.
• IUDs prevent the man’s sperm from fertilizing the woman’s egg.
• Natural methods help a woman know when she is fertile, so that she can avoid having sex at that time.
• Permanent methods make it impossible for a man or a woman to have any children.

Planning Pregnancy on Your Own Terms

Family planning cover the decisions couples make about when to have children, how many to have, and how to space pregnancies in a way that suits their life circumstances. This might mean actively trying to conceive, or it might mean choosing a reliable method to delay pregnancy until the timing feels right for you and your partner. Timing pregnancy around personal, financial, or career milestones is a completely valid part of this decision too.