According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the reproductive health means a total well-being in all aspects of reproduction, i.e., physical, emotional, social and behavioural.
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
India was amongst the fi rst countries in the world to initiate ‘family planning’ programme at a national level. This was initiated in 1951 for attaining total reproductive health as a social goal.
Improved programmes covering wider areas related to reproduction are currently in operation under ‘Reproductive and Child Health Care (RCH) programmes. The major tasks under this programme are to create awareness among people about various reproductive aspects and to provide facilities and support for building up a reproductively healthy society.
With the help of audio-visual and the print-media, the governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have taken various steps to create awareness among the people about reproductive aspects.
• Introduction of sex education in schools to provide right information to the younger generation so that they do not believe in myths and misconceptions about sex-related aspects.
• Proper information about reproductive organs, adolescence, safe and hygienic sexual practices, sexually transmitted diseases (STD), AIDS, etc., to lead a reproductively healthy life.
• Educating people, especially fertile couples and those in marriageable age group, about available birth control options, care of pregnant mothers, post-natal care of the mother and child, importance of breast feeding, equal opportunities for the male and the female child, etc., for give rise to a reproductive healthy society.
• Awareness of problems due to uncontrolled population growth, social evils like sex-abuse and sex-related crimes, etc.
• The strong infrastructural facilities, professional expertise and material support to provide medical assistance and care to peop le in reproduction-related problems like pregnancy, delivery, STDs, abortions, contraception, menstrual problems, infertility, etc.
• Implementations of better techniques and new strategies from time to time to provide more efficient care and assistance to people.
• Statutory ban on amniocentesis for sex-determination to legally check increasing female foeticides.
• Immunization of infants and mothers.
• Better awareness about sex related matters, increased number of medically assisted deliveries and better post-natal care leading to decreased maternal and infant mortality rates, small families, better detection and cure of STDs and overall increased medical facilities for all sex-related problems, etc.
POPULATION EXPLOSION
The increased health facilities along with better living conditions had an explosive impact on the growth of population. The world population which was around 2 billion in 1900 increased to three fold, i.e., about 6 billions in just 100 years. A similar trend was observed in India too.
Our population which was approximately 350 million at the time of our independence reached close to the billion by 2000 and crossed 1 billion in May 2000. This means that every sixth person in the world is an Indian. The major reasons for this growth are-
1. A rapid decline in death rate
2. A decline in maternal mortality rate (MMR)
3. A decline in infant mortality rate (IMR)
4. Increase in the number of people reaching reproducible age
According to the 2001 census report, the population growth rate was around 1.7
