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The first steps of getting family ready


Planning the family means planning the future. According to the Department of Health (DOH), family planning means a couple having the desired number of children by using safe, legal, and effective modern family planning methods. To make sure that a couple is ready to have children, there are three points to remember:

1. The couple has to be mentally ready.
Couples should get a chance to focus first on their own relationship. A harmonious relationship where the couple is mentally and emotionally prepared and stable, as well as understanding and agreeing on how they want to raise their kids, will foster an atmosphere that will be good for the children they will eventually have.

2. The couple has to be financially ready.
Building a family requires adequate resources. Couples need to get smart with budgeting when starting a family, but if adequate time is given in achieving financial stability first, then the best care can be provided for the entire family with needs like nutrition, shelter, and education.

3. Proper spacing between children should be practiced.
According to the Department of Health, the proper spacing between children is three to five years. This can give the parents adequate time to focus on enjoying and taking care of their newborn during the first few years. Full attention can be given to the baby’s specialized needs in this crucial period of development. Proper spacing is also needed for the mother to recover physically, which can help prevent maternal complications if the couple decides to have another baby. Couples can also rebuild their depleted finances to prepare for the needs of their next child.

Choosing an appropriate family planning method plays a big part in proper birth spacing when planning a family. They can choose among artificial, natural, or surgical methods of contraception. Artificial methods include pills, IUD, progestin subdermal implants, injectables, and condoms. Natural methods include the standard days method, the cervical mucus method, the temperature method, the symptothermal method, and the lactational amenorrhea method. Surgical methods tend to be more permanent and include no scalpel vasectomy and bilateral tubal ligation. The DOH has set up health centers, clinics, and hospitals where couples can consult and be given information and counseling to guide them in choosing the method that is most appropriate for their needs.

In Healthy Ever After, the Department of Health and GMA News TV’s collaborative family health show, one of the hosts, Max Collins, mentions that P1 million is the average amount needed to provide a child with their basic needs until they are two years old. This is no small amount for most families and caring for several children at once, especially in their early years, is no small feat. Proper family planning can address these challenges and produce better chances of kids getting the right amount of emotional, mental, and physical support from their parents or guardians. This leads to them growing into productive and responsible individuals, who are able to contribute to a better economy.

Watch all episodes of Healthy Ever After on GMA Public Affairs’ YouTube Channel here.

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