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What is your opinion about the practice of family planning? Are you for it or against it?
Maternal and infant mortality and teenage pregnancy are reproductive health-related problems that the country continues to face. Among the many benefits of family planning, these issues are also addressed.
According to the Department of Health (n.d.), family planning has its benefits on all the members of the family: the mother, child, and even including the father. As both pregnancy and labor greatly impact the mother’s body, family planning allows for the recovery of the mother may it be psychologically or physiologically. This reduces the numbers of maternal mortality, promoting the health of mothers that subsequently leads to healthy children as well. The father is also a part of the beneficiaries considering that parenthood is a shared responsibility between both parents. Thus, family planning services are helpful in that married couples are given the opportunity to make themselves well-informed and prepared in starting or extending their family.
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Are you in favor of the Reproductive Health Law and its provisions? Elaborate your answer.
The reproductive health law intends to provide services as well as education regarding reproductive health. Family planning, maternal, infant, and child nutrition, and sex education are among the elements of the said law. Indeed, if executed properly, there will surely be improvements in the Philippines health situation.
One thing I’d like to note is that it minimally addresses the increasing amount of maternal deaths caused by unsafe abortion as it does state that abortion is still a crime. Although the provisions include providing non-judgmental care to patients with post-abortion complications, it has little to no effect considering that the number of maternal deaths from unsafe abortion does not decrease. In fact, while 70 women induce abortion through unsanitary and outdated methods, 3 women die every day and 11 women are hospitalized every hour from unsafe abortion complications (Padilla, 2020) . And as nurses, it is our responsibility to be our client’s advocate. And I firmly believe that safe abortion is essential healthcare.
References:
Department of Health. (n.d.). WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING FAMILY PLANNING?. https://doh.gov.ph/faqs/What-are-the-benefits-of-using-family-planning
Padilla, C. (2020). Reasons Why We Need to Decriminalize Abortion. EnGendeRights, Inc.. https://www.law.utoronto.ca/sites/default/files/documents/reprohealth/philippines_2020_reasons_to_decriminalize.pdf