Reproductive Health: Definition, Strategies & Importance

What is reproductive health? Do human beings reproduce? Have you heard about the term Reproduction? An individual should maintain proper Reproductive health to attain certain things in life. Reproductive health is defined as total well-being in the physical, behavioural, and social aspects of reproduction.

In this article, we have provided detailed information on reproductive health, its problems, strategies to improve reproductive health, etc. Scroll down to learn more about reproductive health.

What is Reproductive Health?

The term reproductive health refers to the healthy reproductive organs with normal functions. It refers to the well-being of individuals in terms of emotional, physical, behavioural, and social aspects of reproduction.

Fig: Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health and WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined reproductive health as total well-being in physical, emotional, behavioural, and social aspects of reproduction. A lot of programs are focused on maintaining reproductive health. These programs involve small ads and TV shows available on the television that promotes safe sexual activities and awareness about Sexually Transmitted Diseases or STDs. All these programs intend to promote reproductive health amongst individuals.

Reproductive Health Problems

Some of the problems related to reproductive health are as follows:

Fig: An Image Depicting Reproductive Health Problems

Study About Reproductive System

1. Infertility

It is the total inability of a female or male to conceive or to have a child. The reason for this could be physical, congenital diseases, more alcoholic consumption, drugs, etc.

Fig: Infertility

2. Unwanted Fertility: In India, High unwanted pregnancy and fertility have proved to be one of the major problems. This can be the possible result of lack of awareness, indifference towards using contraception, etc.

3. Maternal Mortality: Maternal death during childbirth and labour has always been a curse. This mostly occurs due to lack of care and help, lack of medical facilities, etc.

Strategies to Improve Reproductive Health

Reproductive health can be defined as complete well-being in the physical, emotional, behavioural, and social aspects of reproduction. Below we have provided some of the strategies to improve reproductive health:

1. Family Planning

Family Planning is a program initiated to attain total reproductive health, and India is the first country to initiate this program at the national level in \(1951.\)

Fig: Family Planning

It is not only a method of birth control but also includes:
i. Proper spacing and limitation of birth
ii. Education for parenthood
iii. Advice of sterility
iv. Carrying out a pregnancy test
v. Sex education, etc.

2. Marriageable Age Group

It is necessary to educate people about the age group for marriage. It is important that society need to know about the following:
i. Birth control options
ii. Pre and postnatal care
iii. Challenges of bringing up a child
iv. Avoiding unprotected sex, etc.

3. Sex Education

Sex education in school intends to provide proper scientific knowledge about the reproductive system, its physiology, hormonal changes, and its impact on their physical as well as psychological aspects. It also provides awareness about sexually transmitted diseases, sexual exploitations, and sex-related crimes.

Fig: Sexual Education

4. Medical Facilities

To attain total reproductive health, proper medical doctors, surgeons, and strong infrastructural facilities should be provided. Better awareness about sex-related problems medically assisted deliveries, abortion, and also care to be given to people having an abortion.

Postnatal care of mother and infant decreases maternal and infant mortality. Better detection and cure of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and increased medical facilities for sex-related problems, etc., indicate improved reproductive health of male and female individuals and children.

5. Birth Control

It refers to the regulation of conception by preventive methods or devices to limit the number of offspring. The most important step to control population growth is to motivate smaller families (nuclear families) by using contraceptive methods. The birth control method which prevents the fertilization process is known as contraception. Some of the effective birth control methods are IUDs, MTP, Barrier methods, etc.

Fig: Birth Control Pills and Barrier

Contraception works in one of the three ways, namely,
i. Preventing contact between ovum and sperm
ii. Preventing fertilization
iii. Preventing implantation.

Methods of Birth Control

Birth control refers to the regulation of conception by preventive methods or devices to limit the number of offspring. There are various birth control methods like IUDs, barrier methods, MTP, etc., Below we have listed in detail the effective methods of birth control:

1. Natural Methods: These methods work on the principle of avoiding chances of meeting between gametes. This can be done by following periodic abstinence (avoiding sexual contact on day \(10 -17\) of the menstrual cycle) and lactational amenorrhea (it is based on the absence of menstruation during the intense lactation following parturition).

2. Barrier Methods: The barrier acts as a mechanical obstruction and prevents the contact of sperm and ovum. These are of two types, physical barrier method, and chemical barrier method.

a) Physical Barrier Methods: Physical barrier methods are available for both males and females, such as,
a. Condoms are the barriers used by males that are made up of thin rubber or latex sheath.
b. Diaphragm or cervical caps and femidom are the barriers used by females.

b) Chemical Barrier Methods: It is a chemical method of temporary contraception that includes oral contraception that is followed only by females. In this method, oral pills are taken every day for \(21\) days, i.e., from the \({\rm{5th}}\) day to the \({\rm{25th}}\) day of the menstrual cycle. Oral pills are hormonal pills made up of estrogen and progesterone or progestogen-only.

3. Intrauterine Devices (IUDs): These are small flexible objects made up of plastic, copper, or stainless steel and are inserted into the female uterus by doctors. These copper ions released by IUDs suppress the motility of the sperm and thereby suppress fertilization ability, and it also prevents implantation in the uterus.

4. Permanent or Surgical Methods: These are the permanent methods employed in both males and females for permanent contraception. These are as follows:

a. Tubectomy – It is the permanent method of contraceptive followed in females. It is a surgical procedure where a small part of the fallopian tube is removed or cut off, and the cut ends are tied up to prevent the entry of eggs into the uterus.
b. Vasectomy – It is the permanent method of contraceptive followed in males. It is a surgical procedure where a small part of vas deference is removed and cut off and the cut ends are tied up so the sperms produced in the testis cannot be released out.

5. Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP): Intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before it is fully developed is known as medical termination of pregnancy. This can be helpful to save the life of a mother in case of any complications during the pregnancy.

Fig: Sex Determination

i. MTP had been legalised by the government of India in \(1971\) with strict conditions to avoid its misuse.
ii. MTP is essential where pregnancy could be harmful to the mother or to the foetus, or both.
iii. MTP is safe during the first trimester, whereas during the second trimester, it is riskier.
iv. Another dangerous trend of MTP is the misuse of Amniocentesis to determine the sex of the unborn child.

Amniocentesis is a prenatal diagnostic technique in which a sample of amniotic fluid from the womb of pregnant women is taken during the early stages of foetal development, and the cells are cultured and analyzed. By this method, the chromosomal abnormalities, the sex of the foetus, and the development disorders could be detected. But this is misused for destroying a female foetus.

Population Boom and Reproductive Health

Population means a total number of individuals of a species living in a particular area at a particular time. The rapid increase of population over a relatively short period is called population explosion. The size of the population and its composition is obtained through the census. Census is an official counting of the population under compiled data of birth, death, sex ratio, etc.

 Fig: Population Explosion

Reasons for the growth of human populations are as follows:
i. The decline in death rate and decline in infant mortality rate (IMR)
ii. The decline in maternal mortality rate (MMR)
iii. Increase in the number of people in the reproductive age
iv. Control of disease
v. Advancement in the agricultural field
vi. Spread of education.

Effects of Population Explosion

Overpopulation leads to a number of problems like poverty, scarcity of food, unemployment, education problem, etc. Below we have provided the drastic effects because of the population explosion:

Fig: Effects of Population Explosion

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) or Venereal Diseases (VD) or Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI)

These are the diseases that are primarily transmitted through sexual contact. They are also called Veneral disease, i.e., named after the Greek ‘’god of love’’ Venus.

Fig: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Some of the common STDs are as follows:

a. Syphilis: It is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which grows and multiplies in warm and moist areas of the reproductive tract and causes symptoms like skin lesions, swollen joints, heart trouble, etc.
b. Gonorrhoea: It is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoea and mainly affects women, causes pain around the genitalia and pus-containing yellow discharge, etc.
c. Chlamydiasis: It is caused by a bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It causes inflammation of the fallopian tubes, cervicitis, epididymitis, etc.
d. Trichomoniasis: It is caused by a protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis. It causes vaginitis, foul-smelling and burning sensation in females and causes urethritis, epididymitis, and prostatitis in males.
e. Genital Herpes: It is caused by a Herpes simplex virus. It causes vesiculopustular lesions, vaginal discharge, ulcers over external genitalia, etc.
f. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS): It is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It is a fluid transmitted disease that may be due to transmission through body fluids like semen, blood, etc.

Preventive Measures of STDs

Below we have provided some of the preventive measures of STDs:

i. Always use contraceptives like condoms during sex.
ii. Avoid sex with unknown partners or multiple partners.
iii. Use sterilised needles and syringes.
iv. Screening of blood donors should be mandatory.

Importance of Reproductive Health

Reproductive health is important for every individual to be healthy. Some of the importance of reproductive health are as follows:

i. Every individual has to follow good hygiene, mainly reproductive hygiene, as many STDs are prone to unhygienic conditions in the reproductive organs.
ii. A regular medical checkup is important as our physical and mental health plays a very important role in avoiding a certain level of dangerous health disorders.
iii. Using contraception during sex to avoid unnecessary pregnancy and STDs.
iv. Reproductive health plays an important role in morbidity, mortality, and life expectancy.
v. Reproductive health problems are the leading cause of women’s ill health and mortality worldwide.
vi. Reproductive health is an important component of general health and is important for social, economic, and human development.

Summary

Reproduction is a major life process in all living beings and coming to human reproduction, reproductive health plays a major role in developing a new generation. There are many problems that affect human reproductive health. Sexually transmitted diseases play a very important role in World’s Human Reproductive health. It is very important to understand the significance of Reproductive Health, its problems, and the precautionary measures to be followed to avoid Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

FAQs on Reproductive Health

Q.1. How can reproductive health problems be prevented?
Ans: The reproductive health problems can be prevented in the following ways:
a. By eating and drinking good food and plenty of water.
b. By avoiding unsafe sexual contact with strangers or multiple partners.
c. By avoiding the consumption of alcohol or drugs and also by quitting smoking.
d. But controlling population, as overpopulation leads to scarcity of food and poverty.

Q.2. What are the reproductive health issues?
Ans: The main reproductive health issues are as follows:
a. Sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, etc.
b. Infertility problems in men and women.

Q.3. Why is reproductive health important?
Ans: Reproductive health is important because to be healthy and to make proper decisions. It is important to be emotionally and psychologically fit and well-behaved in society.

Q.4. What is good reproductive health?
Ans: Good reproductive health is a state where a person has physically and functionally normal reproductive organs with normal emotional and behavioural interactions among them is all sex-related aspects.

Q.5. What is meant by reproductive health?
Ans: The term reproductive health refers to the healthy reproductive organs with normal functions.

We hope this detailed article on Reproductive Health helps you in your preparation. If you get stuck do let us know in the comments section below and we will get back to you at the earliest.