Take Charge is a government program that provides free family planning and pregnancy prevention services to low-income residents of Washington state. [1] The program expands Medicaid coverage for family planning services to individuals whose income is 200% or lower than the federal poverty level (FPL). By reducing the prevalence of unintended pregnancies, the goal of the program is to improve public health while reducing Federal and State Medicaid costs of unplanned pregnancies and their consequences. As of November 2007, there were 200 clinics in Washington providing the program's services. [2]
Services available to eligible women include family planning counseling, annual examinations and pap smears, prescriptions for FDA-approved birth control methods including emergency contraception, and tubal ligation (sterilization) procedures. Services available to eligible men include FDA-approved over the counter contraceptives (such as male and female condoms and spermicide), annual contraceptive counseling sessions, and vasectomy (sterilization) procedures. [3]
The program began in July 2001 and has been utilized by over 400,000 men and women. In September 2006, the Washington Department of Social and Health Services published an evaluation of the program, entitled TAKE CHARGE: Final Evaluation, First Five Years: July 2001-June 2006. [4]
According to the report:
- An estimated 22% of the women eligible under the waiver, who would have had an unintended pregnancy, remained pregnancy free.
- The proportion of clients using a more effective family planning method increased from 53.0% at enrollment to 70.6% one year later. The proportion that reported using abstinence in the prior two months remained steady at 11.3%.
- The number of Medicaid women (including Take Charge clients) who received services from family planning clinics increased from 22,850 during the baseline year to 85,607 in year one, 108,253 in year two, and 121,997 in year three.
- The number of Medicaid men (including Take Charge clients) receiving family planning services increased from 850 during the baseline year to 3548 in year one, 4384 in year two, and 5018 in year three.
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Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy.
Sterilization is any of a number of medical methods of birth control that intentionally leaves a person unable to reproduce. Sterilization methods include both surgical and non-surgical, and exist for both males and females. Sterilization procedures are intended to be permanent; reversal is generally difficult or impossible.
Tubal ligation is a surgical procedure for female sterilization in which the fallopian tubes are permanently blocked, clipped or removed. This prevents the fertilization of eggs by sperm and thus the implantation of a fertilized egg. Tubal ligation is considered a permanent method of sterilization and birth control.
Family planning is "the ability of individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. It is achieved through use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of involuntary infertility." Family planning may involve consideration of the number of children a woman wishes to have, including the choice to have no children and the age at which she wishes to have them. These matters are influenced by external factors such as marital situation, career considerations, financial position, and any disabilities that may affect their ability to have children and raise them. If sexually active, family planning may involve the use of contraception and other techniques to control the timing of reproduction.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) and a member association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). PPFA has its roots in Brooklyn, New York, where Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. in 1916. Sanger founded the American Birth Control League in 1921, which changed its name to Planned Parenthood in 1942.
There are many methods of birth control, they vary in what is required of the user, side effects, and effectiveness. It is also important to note that not every method of birth control is ideal for each user. Outlined here are the different types of barrier methods, hormonal methods, various methods including spermicides, emergency contraceptives, and surgical methods.
Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) are methods of birth control that provide effective contraception for an extended period without requiring user action. They include injections, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and subdermal contraceptive implants. They are the most effective reversible methods of contraception because their efficacy is not reliant on patient compliance. The 'typical use' failure rates of IUDs and implants, at less than 1% per year, are about the same as 'perfect use' failure rates.
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is a method or device used to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only became available in the 20th century. Planning, making available, and using birth control is called family planning. Some cultures limit or discourage access to birth control because they consider it to be morally, religiously, or politically undesirable. The term birth control is a bit of a misnomer since abortion is not regularly considered under the term.
The Title X Family Planning Program is the only federal grant program dedicated to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. It was enacted under President Richard Nixon in 1970 as part of the Public Health Service Act.
Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed, unplanned or unwanted at the time of conception.
Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. From 1965 to 2009, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved, but the national fertility rate in absolute numbers remains high, causing concern for long-term population growth. India adds up to 1,000,000 people to its population every 20 days. Extensive family planning has become a priority in an effort to curb the projected population of two billion by the end of the twenty-first century.
Birth control is a method or device used to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been around since ancient times, but effective and safe forms of birth control have only become available in the 20th century. According to the 2015-2017 National Survey of Family Growth conducted on 72.2 million women between the ages of 15 and 49 in the United States, approximately 64.9% of the sample reported using some method of birth control.
A contraceptive mandate is a government regulation or law that requires health insurers, or employers that provide their employees with health insurance, to cover some contraceptive costs in their health insurance plans.
Prenatal care in the United States is a health care preventive care protocol recommended to women with the goal to provide regular check-ups that allow obstetricians-gynecologists or midwives to detect, treat and prevent potential health problems throughout the course of pregnancy while promoting healthy lifestyles that benefit both mother and child. Patients are encouraged to attend monthly checkups during the first two trimesters and in the third trimester gradually increasing to weekly visits. Women who suspect they are pregnant can schedule pregnancy tests prior to 9 weeks gestation. Once pregnancy is confirmed an initial appointment is scheduled after 8 weeks gestation. Subsequent appointments consist of various tests ranging from blood pressure to glucose levels to check on the health of the mother and fetus. If not, appropriate treatment will then be provided to hinder any further complications.
The objective of family planning services in the United States is to provide educational, medical and social activities which enable individuals, including minors, to determine the number and spacing of their children and to select the means by which that target may be achieved.
Globally approximately 45% of those who are married and able to have children use contraception. As of 2007, IUDs were used by about 17% of women of child bearing age in developing countries and 9% in developed countries or more than 180 million women worldwide. Avoiding sex when fertile is used by about 3.6% of women of childbearing age, with usage as high as 20% in areas of South America. As of 2005, 12% of couples are using a male form of contraception with rates of up to 30% in the developed world.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is divided into 10 titles and contains provisions that became effective immediately, 90 days after enactment, and six months after enactment, as well as provisions phased in through to 2020. Below are some of the key provisions of the ACA. For simplicity, the amendments in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are integrated into this timeline.
Maternal healthcare in Texas refers to the provision of family planning services, abortion options, pregnancy-related services, and physical and mental well-being care for women during the prenatal and postpartum periods. The provision of maternal health services in each state can prevent and reduce the incidence of maternal morbidity and mortality and fetal death.
Contraceptive use is important to slow population growth as well as a reduction in neonatal mortality, maternal mortality and adverse perinatal outcomes. In Bangladesh, an estimated 60% of married women currently use a method of contraception.
International family planning programs aim to provide women around the world, especially in developing countries, with contraceptive and reproductive services that allow them to avoid unintended pregnancies and control their reproductive choices.