The potential threat of a population explosion made family planning a national issue in many developing countries. In the developed countries the changing role of a family to meet the demands of a hectic industrial life necessitated small families. Hence several birth control techniques were developed over the years.
The sex glands of a man, the testes, produce sperms while the sex glands of a woman, the ovaries, produce eggs or ova. When the male sperm joins the female ovum inside a woman’s body, a new life begins to grow. Birth control methods are used to prevent this meeting of the egg-cell with the sperm. These have been divided into three broad categories: Natural methods, Spacing methods and Terminal methods.
Natural methods are those which do not involve the use of any device or drug. These are: (i) rhythm or safe period method and (ii) coitus interruptus.
The rhythm method is based on the avoidance of sexual intercourse during the ‘unsafe period’ or the days when there is a possibility of the egg cell meeting the sperm. Women normally produce one egg cell every month. If the male sperm do not enter the vagina at that time, then pregnancy can be avoided. The safe period is counted basing on the days of the regular menstrual cycle of 28 days. Eleven days before the expected date of commencement of menstruation are considered safe; the eight days preceding these eleven days are full of risk then again eight days before this risk period are considered safe. Since the regularity of monthly period varies from woman to woman, so also the safe period.
The second natural method, coitus interruptus, involves interrupting sexual intercourse before the man ejaculates. Withdrawing the penis from the vagina before discharge prevents the semen from entering the woman’s body. This method is, however, very risky.
Spacing methods include the barrier contraceptives which prevent the viable sperm either from entering the vagina or from reaching the uterus, thus leaving them unable to ‘swim’ up the fallopian tube and fertilize an ovum. These methods involve the use of: (i) Condom, (ii) Diaphragm, (iii) Intra-Uterine devices (IUD), (iv) Oral contraceptive pills and, (v) Spermicides. All these methods are good for delaying or spacing children as they are easily reversed simply by stopping their use.
Condom is an extremely thin rubber sheath unrolled on the erect male organ before having sex. As it covers the penis, sperms cannot go inside the woman’s body. A new condom is used everytime.
Similarly diaphragm is a thin rubber cap shaped like a dome which is placed in a woman’s vagina before intercourse. This closes the opening to the womb and hence stops meeting of the male and female cells.
The intra-uterine devices are placed inside the uterus so that sperm is not allowed to meet ovum. Lipps Loop and Copper-T are the most commonly used IUDs in India.
Spermicides are chemical contraceptives like jelly cream and foam tablets which kill the male sperms deposited in the woman’s body during intercourse. They are used only 15 minutes before the intercourse.
The oral contraceptives are birth control pills which keep the egg from moving out of a woman’s ovary and thus prevent her from becoming pregnant. These pills contain oestrogen and progesterone hormones maintain them at a constant high level. As a result ovulation is not triggered and without an ovum, pregnancy cannot occur.
Terminal method, popularly known as sterilization, is an extremely effective method of contraception because it is permanent. In males it is called vasectomy where the sperms are prevented from leaving the testes by cutting and tying the vas deferens. In females it is called tubectomy where the surgeon closes the fallopian tubes along which the egg-cells pass to reach the uterus.
With the help of the different birth control methods one can have as many children as one wants and also the desired gap between the births.