What is Facts for Life?
Timing Births
Safe Motherhood
Child Development and Early Learning
Breastfeeding
Nutrition and Growth
Immunization
Diarrhoea
Coughs, Colds and More Serious Illnesses
Hygiene
Malaria
HIV/AIDS
Injury Prevention
Disasters and Emergencies
PDF and text-only versions
Timing Births
Supporting Information
Key Message 4:
Family planning services provide people with the knowledge and the means to plan when to begin having children, how many to have and how far apart to have them, and when to stop. There are many safe and acceptable ways of avoiding pregnancy.
Health clinics should offer advice to help people choose a family planning method that is acceptable, safe, convenient, effective and affordable.
Of the various contraceptive methods, only condoms protect against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
Exclusive breastfeeding can delay the return of the mother's fertility for approximately six months after childbirth. Exclusive breastfeeding provides a woman with 98 per cent protection from pregnancy, but only if her baby is under the age of six months, her menstrual periods have not returned, and the baby is breastfed on demand and exclusively – receiving no other foods or drinks.
On timing births, see also:
