REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH by TANISHA THAKUR

INTRODUCTION

sg131411 — 2024-10-29 10:16:48 UTC

Reproductive health is the total well-being and proper functioning of the reproductive organs in all phases of reproduction of males and females. This includes a complete state of mental, physical, and social well-being.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT ?

sg131411 — 2024-10-29 10:48:53 UTC

There can be pressure from families to get married and start having children or just peer pressure for participating in many activities, whether we really want or not. There can be pressure from government agencies to avoid having children. Thus, some degree of sexual maturation does not necessarily mean that the body or mind is ready for sexual acts or for having children.

Hence, reproductive health in society is important as it helps to prevent the spread of various sexually transmitted diseases and impart the ability to produce offspring having better survival rates. It also helps in maintaining the population size and avoiding unwanted pregnancies.

STD's

sg131411 — 2024-10-29 10:58:40 UTC

Diseases can be transmitted from person to person in several ways. Since sexual acts are very intimate connection of the bodies, many diseases gets transmitted due to this. Some bacterial infections are gonorrhea and syphilis. Viral infections can also be caused due to this like warts and HIV-AIDS

PREVENTION

sg131411 — 2024-10-29 11:18:47 UTC

Sexual acts always has the potential to lead to pregnancy and this makes major demands on the body and mind of the woman. If she is not ready for this, then her health will be adversely affected. Thus, to avoid unwanted pregnancy as well as STD's, there are certain contraceptive methods. These 3 methods are -

Using condoms :: Using a covering called a condom for the penis or similar coverings worn in the vagina during sex helps to prevent the transmission of many of these diseases and infections as it acts as a mechanical barrier so that the sperm does not reach the egg.
Taking drugs orally as pills :: This method changes the hormonal balances of the body so that eggs are not released and fertilization cannot occur. However, since they change hormonal balances, there are many side effects also.
Contraceptive devices :: Intra Uterine Devices (IUD's) like Copper-T which is placed in the uterus prevent pregnancy and motility and promote phagocytosis.

SURGICAL METHODS

sg131411 — 2024-10-29 11:29:00 UTC

There are some surgical methods to prevent pregnancy. For example, if the fallopian tube (oviduct) of a female and the vas deferens of a male are blocked, then the egg and sperm transfer will be prevented respectively. Thus, the egg will not be able to reach the uterus and hence in both cases fertilization will not take place. However this is a permanent solution and cannot be reversed. These surgical methods are known as Vasectomy for males and Tubectomy for females.

THE ENDING

sg131411 — 2024-10-29 11:41:28 UTC

Thus reproductive health is extremely important for males as well as females. The government of India has banned prenatal sex determination due to the illegal selective sex abortion of female foetuses. This leads to an increasing amount of female foeticide resulting in an alarming reduction of child sex ratio. For a healthy society, the male and female sex ratio should be maintained. Hence, reproductive health is an extremely important thing to take care of and look after.