Family Planning

ForewordsFrom the World Health OrganizationThe job of family planning remains unfinished. Despite great progress over thelast several decades, more than 120 million women worldwide want to preventpregnancy, but they and their partners are not using contraception. Reasons forunmet need are many: Services and supplies are not yet available everywhereor choices are limited. Fear of social disapproval or partner’s opposition poseformidable barriers. Worries of side effects and health concerns hold somepeople back; others lack knowledge about contraceptive options and their use.These people need help now.Millions more are using family planning to avoid pregnancy but fail, for a variety ofreasons. They may not have received clear instructions on how to use the methodproperly, could not get a method better suited to them, were not properlyprepared for side effects, or supplies ran out. These people need better help now.Moreover, the job of family planning never will be finished. In the next 5 years about60 million girls and boys will reach sexual maturity. Generation after generation,there will always be people needing family planning and other health care.While current challenges to health throughout the world are many and serious,the need to control one’s own fertility probably touches more lives thanany other health issue. It is crucial to people’s well-being, particularly that ofwomen—and fundamental to their self-determination.How can this book help? By enabling health care providers to give better care tomore people. In a straightforward, easily used way, this book translates scientificevidence into practical guidance on all major contraceptive methods. Thisguidance reflects the consensus of experts from the world’s leading healthorganizations. With this book in hand, a provider can confidently serve clientswith many different needs and knowledgeably offer a wide range of methods.The World Health Organization (WHO) appreciates the many contributionsto this book made by people from around the world. The collaboration todevelop, by consensus, an evidence-based book of this scope and depth is aremarkable achievement. WHO would like to thank particularly the JohnsHopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for CommunicationPrograms for its invaluable partnership in the preparation of this book. WHOalso appreciates the commitment of the many organizations—United Nationsagencies, members of the Implementing Best Practices Consortium, and manyothers—that are adopting this handbook and disseminating it to health careproviders throughout the world with the financial support of a wide range ofgovernment agencies and other development partners. These concerted effortsattest that the job of improving the world’s health lies in good hands.Paul F.A. Van Look, MD PhD FRCOGDirector, Department of Reproductive Health and ResearchWorld Health OrganizationivFamily Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers