Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : March 29, 2018 3:29 PM IST
One of India s most sought after a chain of speciality mother and child care hospitals Cloudnine Group of Hospitals had a panel discussion on women s reproductive choices under the theme, It s Your Choice: Take Charge of your own Reproductive Health. Gracing the discussion Dr Kalpana Apte, Secretary General of Family Planning Commission of India, threw some insights on this subject urging women to be more aware and understanding about maternal health. Here we got talking to her on how women can exercise choice when it comes to reproductive health.
With an outburst of information on reproductive and maternal health on every platform, why is it that Indian women are not capable of taking informed reproductive choices?
There might be knowledge around, but ignorance is also prevalent. For instance, even for a problem like white discharge, a woman might not just land up at the gynaecologist s clinic for a check-up. She will ignore it till it is late. This attitude reflects in taking reproductive decisions too. She decides on reproducing when the society, her partner or family thinks it is right for her. This attitude is deep rooted in Indian women except for a handful who stand for themselves. This is because right from the beginning, decisions of her life is taken by others, whom to marry, what to study, how to conduct herself it is taught to her and this attitude extends even when she reaches the reproductive age. Most of the time she isn t taking decision totally on her own when to produce and when not too, this could be detrimental both for her and her baby too. Here are few things you should know about postpartum depression.
The society puts pressure on most women to get pregnant as the biological clock keeps ticking. What is your take on this issue?
This is exactly where we say women have no right to her reproductive health. There should be no stigma attached to age and birthing. Women even in their mid-thirties should have the right to choose when she decides to give birth. The problem is women are not empowered with the knowledge that can help them to take decision for themselves. We need to guide young women to understand that it is her body and her right to decide on maternity. The moment a woman realises that it is her body and her right it will help her to take decisions on her own when to marry, when to have kids, how many kids she can have or if she wishes not to have any. These decisions should primarily be hers in consultation with her partner and that is when we can empower a woman in real sense. Here are few tips to keep in mind while planning a pregnancy after 35.
What according to you are the perils a woman has to face when she is not able to control the decisions related to reproductive health?
When women do not have control over decisions related to their reproductive health or are not well-informed, it can lead to physiological and maternal health issues in so many levels. The foremost fear is the spread of sexually transmitted diseases followed by unwanted or unplanned pregnancies and the most perilous deaths during pregnancy. On the other hand, when women take control of their health, make informed reproductive decisions, and adopt suitable contraceptives, it improves their health; gives them more time and energy to focus on their careers and aspirations; increases family happiness and prosperity. Here are ways to avoid unwanted pregnancies
When we say a woman needs to be informed about her reproductive health what exactly do we mean?
It is the right to take a decision of her maternal well-being. When does she want to get pregnant, if she is ready to take the plunge in life physically, emotionally and also financially. A planned pregnancy should be decided by both partners first. Next, comes the awareness about her health like if she is anaemic, have hypertension or other health issues and how to overcome them to get better care during maternity, instead of forcing her to get pregnant. It is just a matter of making them aware of the whole thing.
Image source: Cloudnine Hospital
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