Population Stabilization & Birth Control: Definition & Methods

A dramatic increase in population size over a relatively short period is called a population explosion. The world population, which was around two billion in the nineties, rocketed to more than 6 billion by the twenties. According to the census report of 2021, the population growth rate was still around 1.7%. If the same rate is maintained further, the population could double in the upcoming 33 years. Since the carrying capacity of the earth and the resources available on the earth are limited, it is necessary to control the present rate of population growth. Population stabilization is the key to maintaining the population growth rate by adopting certain birth control methods. What are the different birth control methods and strategies that lead to population stabilization? Let’s read the article to find out the answers to the questionnaire about population stabilization and birth control.

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Population Explosion and Population Stabilization

An exponential increase in the size of a human population within a small time period is called a population explosion. On the other hand, population stabilization refers to the static population size over a definite period.

Natality & Natality Rate: An increase in the number of individuals in a population under given environmental conditions is called natality. An increase in the number of individuals per unit time is called the natality rate.

Mortality & Mortality Rate: The loss of individuals due to death in a population under given environmental conditions is termed mortality. It is expressed as a mortality rate, indicating the number of individuals dying over a period.

Based on natality and mortality rate, the population explosion and population stabilization can be summed up as follows:

Natality Rate> Mortality Rate = Population Explosion

Natality Rate = Mortality Rate? Population Stabilisation

Effects of Population Explosion

There are the following effects of population explosion:

1. Environmental degradation is caused due to overpopulation.
2. Population explosion results in the depletion of natural resources.
3. Every individual will not be able to get a good occupation due to the population explosion that is associated with poverty and a poor lifestyle.
4. An exponential increase in the population leads to poor health due to the lack of nutrition and other resources.

What is the Need of Population Stabilization?

The National Population Policy came into existence in February 2000 with the objective of population stabilization in India. It also deals with fulfilling the needs of contraception and providing integrated services for child health care and maintaining a good basic reproductive health of a person. The need for population stabilization can be listed as follows:

1. At present, India hosts about 17% of the world’s population, which is far much higher than the surface area available for the population. Since only 2.45% of the global surface area is available for habitants, therefore population stabilization is necessary to avoid non-eco-friendly activities, like deforestation.
2. Moreover, the population size is extremely large compared to the water resources. An estimated percentage of usable water is about 1% that is extremely less for the large population. Population stabilization is therefore required to fulfill the water requirements of populations that serve as a basis of our life.
3. Population stabilization is also essential to maintain the good reproductive health and body health of a person.

Challenges Associated with Population Stabilization

The following main challenges get in the way to achieve the goal of population stabilization:

1. Literacy and Education: Illiteracy among people promotes early marriages that not only increase the likelihood of more children but also put a woman’s reproductive and body health at risk.
   Beyond this, lack of education negatively impacts family planning as the people will not understand the importance and long-term effects of family planning that are not only restricted to the individual’s family but also to the entire community.

2. Social-Economic Factors: Preference of a male child can also be considered as the biggest challenge for population stabilization. There is a misconception in society that a male child will only run the family from an economic and hereditary perspective. While running behind this misconception, people never realize that it not only drastically increases the birth rate and adversely affects the reproductive health of women.
3. Inadequate use of contraceptives: The contraceptive prevalence rate is less than 10% in most of the Northern states. Females in Northern states and villages are still giving birth to four and more children. Moreover, they do not rely on the modern methods of contraception and rely only on traditional contraceptive methods that are not much successful in achieving the goal of population stabilization.

Birth Control Methods – A Goal to Population Stabilization

Definition: The regulation of conception by preventing methods or devices to limit the number of offspring is called birth control. A wide range of contraceptive methods is efficiently practised by couples to bring population stabilization into reality. These are discussed as follows:

Fig: Devices and Strategies used for Birth control

Fig: Methods of Birth Control

1. Natural Methods or Traditional Methods: Natural methods work on the principle of avoiding chances of ovum and sperm fusion. These include the following methods:

I. Periodic abstinence: It involves refraining from coitus from day 10 to 17 of the menstrual cycle when ovulation could be expected to its great extent. As chances of fertilization are very high during this period, it is called the fertile period. Therefore, abstaining from coitus during this period could prevent conception. It is also called the rhythm or calendar method.

II. Coitus interruptus or withdrawal: It is the clinical term for the withdrawal of the penis from the vagina of a female partner prior to ejaculation to prevent the discharge of semen into the vagina and thereby to prevent fertilization. The method is not reliable as a small amount of pre-ejaculate will come out of the penis that contains sperm and can cause a pregnancy.

III. Lactational amenorrhoea: Mothers who breastfeed usually skip their menstrual period for some time after birth. Skipping periods during breastfeeding is called lactational amenorrhoea. During lactational amenorrhoea, women are less likely to get pregnant, though the possibility exists. However, this method has been reported to be effective only up to a maximum period of six months following parturition.

IV. Monitoring Body Temperature: The body temperature takes a slight dip just before ovulation and then rises later. Hence by monitoring temperature during ovulation days can give an idea of ovulation, and the intercourse can be avoided. But this method is practically not possible as there may be several other reasons for the fluctuation in body temperature.

V. Monitoring changes in Cervical Mucus: It is based on the fact that mucus secreted by the cervix gets thin and increases in quantity a few days before ovulation. Avoiding sexual intercourse during these days could prevent contraception.

2. Barrier Methods: These methods prevent coming closer to the ovum and sperms by putting a barrier in between that cannot be penetrated through sperms. Different types of barriers are as follows:

I. Contraceptive sponge: It is a disc-shaped gadget that is made up of polyurethane foam. It contains spermicides that block the entry of sperm into the uterus and kill the sperm. It is placed deep inside the vagina of a female to cover the cervix. The vaginal muscles hold it in a place. Before placing it into the vagina, it should be soaked in water to activate the spermicide.

II. Diaphragm, Cervical caps, and vaults: These are cup-shaped (diaphragm, cervical caps) or dome-shaped (vaults) devices that are inserted deep into the female reproductive tract to cover the cervix during coitus. These are made up of rubber or latex. These are smeared with spermicide before their use. These must be kept for about six hours after sexual intercourse. These devices are reusable.

III. Condoms: These are the barriers made of thin rubber or latex sheath. A female condom (also called femidom) is worn by the women inside their vagina to prevent the entry of sperms. The male condoms are rolled over the erect penis and prevent the entry of sperm into the vagina of females. These also check the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including AIDS, gonorrhoea, etc.

Fig: Different Types of Barriers used in Birth control

3. Chemical Methods: These are also called hormonal methods. Pregnancy can be terminated by interference with ovulation, implantation, etc. Chemical methods involve the introduction of sex hormones that favours the conditions that are not suitable for contraception and fertilization. These are of the following types:

I. Oral Contraceptive pills: These are birth control pills that are taken by mouth to prevent pregnancy. Most birth control pills contain small doses of either progesterone or progesterone-estrogen combination. These synthetic hormones are synthetic versions of naturally occurring female hormones. Based on their hormonal composition, these can be categorized as follows:

i. Mini Pills (Consists of progesterone only): Saheli

ii. Combined Pills (Consists of progesterone-estrogen combination): Mala D, Mala N.

Pills can reduce the pregnancy rate by up to 1%. These pills carry out the following roles towards birth control:

i. These pills prevent ovulation by inhibiting the secretion of FSH and LH from the anterior pituitary.

ii. These pills inhibit implantation and alter the cervical mucus to prevent the entry of sperms.

iii. Pills reduce the risk of ovarian cysts, breast lumps, pelvic inflammatory diseases, and other medical problems. However, the risk of heart and blood-related diseases increases in a few women.

Vaginal pills are also used to prevent ovulation. These pills dissolve in the vagina and release spermicides that kill sperms. D-1 Norgestrel is an example of a vaginal contraceptive pill that is mostly used.

II. Contraceptive patch: A skin patch is worn on the lower abdomen that causes the discharges of progesterone and estrogen into the circulatory system to prevent the discharge of eggs into the fallopian tubes. It also thickens the cervical fluid, prohibiting sperm and egg fusion.

III. Injection: Certain contraceptive pills such as progestin 1 in combination with estrogen hormone are given as an injection under the upper arm skin. The mode of action is similar to that of pills, but they remain effective for a longer duration. They can prevent pregnancy for 4 years.

IV. Vaginal ring: It is a thin ring that discharges progesterone and estrogen. It suppresses the ovulation and thickens the cervical bodily fluid, which prevents the attaching of the sperm to the egg. It is commonly called NuvaRing.

Fig: Hormonal Control Agents of Contraception

4. Implantable Devices: These are the devices that are implanted in the body and left for a couple of years to prevent pregnancy. A few implantable devices can be discussed as follows:

I. Implantable rod: It is scientifically named Implanon rod. A matchstick-sized rod is put under the upper arm skin and releases progesterone to inhibit ovulation. It also thickens cervical fluid to suppress the fusion of gametes.

II. Intrauterine devices (IUDs): These are small devices made of metals or plastics that are inserted by a medical professional into the uterus and start immediate action to control pregnancy. These devices either contain copper or a common synthetic hormone used in contraceptive pills. Following are the examples of intrauterine devices:

I. Copper-releasing IUDs: CuT, Cu7, Multiload 375

II. Hormone-releasing IUDs: Progestasert, LNG-20

IUDs promote phagocytosis of sperms within the uterus and repress the sperm motility and the fertilization capacity of sperms. These devices can prevent pregnancy for 5-10 years.

Fig: Implantable Devices

5. Surgical Methods: Surgical methods are also called sterilization. Surgical intervention blocks gamete transport and thereby prevents conception.

I. Vasectomy: A vasectomy is a surgical procedure performed on males in which the vas deferens (tubes that transport sperms from the testes to the seminal vesicles) are cut, tied, or otherwise interrupted. The semen no longer contains sperms after the tubes are cut, and so conception cannot occur. The testicles continue to produce sperms that die and are absorbed by the body.

II. Tubectomy: In tubectomy, a small part of the fallopian tube is removed and tied up through a small cut in the abdomen through the vagina.
Laparoscopy is a modern method that is now used in tubal ligation. This blocks the fallopian tube. The eggs continue to produce but fail to pass into the uterus, and the sperms fail to reach the eggs for fertilization.

Fig: Surgical methods of birth control

Medical Termination of Pregnancy

Intentional termination of pregnancy before the full time of gestation is called medical termination of pregnancy or induced abortion. Termination of pregnancy has been practised since time immemorial. In India about 10-12 million abortion takes place annually, resulting in thousands of maternal death. Under Medical Termination Pregnancy Act, 1971, the termination of pregnancy can be done in a pregnant woman up to 20 weeks.

The National Family Welfare Programme was launched in India in 1951 with the objective of reducing the natality rate to the extent necessary to stabilize populations at a constant.

Summary

Exponential growth has been observed in the human population nowadays. This increase in population not only exploits our environment and their natural resources but also affects the healthy lifestyle of humans. A balance between the natality rate and mortality rate of a population leads to population stabilization which in turn brings a healthy lifestyle. Humans are highly civilized people that can maintain a standard population size by calculating the overall birth and death rate and accordingly can apply certain birth control methods. Some of these methods involve periodic abstinence, use of barriers (condoms, diaphragms, etc.), intake of contraceptive pills, and surgical methods.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Population Stabilization & Birth Control

Q.1. What is population stabilization?
Ans: Population stabilization is the state when the birth rate and the death rate becomes equal and the population size remains unaltered.

Q.2. What are the four types of birth control methods?
Ans: Birth control methods include:
1. Natural methods (periodic abstinence, coitus withdrawal).
2. Barrier Methods (Diaphragm, Condoms, Intrauterine devices).
3. Chemical methods (Contraceptive pills)
4. Surgical methods (tubectomy, vasectomy)

Q.3 What does birth control do?
Ans: Birth control prevents ovulation, implantation of fertilized eggs and thereby prevents pregnancy.

Q.4. What are the benefits of tubectomy?
Ans: Tubectomy ensures that there will be no further pregnancy. It does not cause hormonal imbalance and other health risks that are caused due to the intake of contraceptive pills.

Q.5. What are the types of intrauterine devices?
Ans: Intrauterine devices are of two types:
1. Copper-releasing IUDs (Copper T)
2. Hormone-releasing IUDs (progestasert)

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