CBSE Tuts

CBSE Maths notes, CBSE physics notes, CBSE chemistry notes

Reproductive and Child Health Care Programme (RCH) | Significance and Problems of Reproductive Health

Contents

Evolutionary Biology Topics allow us to trace the history of life on Earth.

Reproductive Health – Objectives, Problems, and Strategies

Reproductive health is a state of physical, emotional, behavioural, and social fitness for leading a responsible, safe, and satisfying reproductive life. Reproductive health refers to healthy reproductive organs and their normal function. The reproductive life of a woman starts from the production of gamete and finishes with menopause.

According to WHO (World Health Organization), “reproductive health means total well-being in all aspects of reproduction i.e.; physical, emotional, behavioural and social.” Reproductive health or sexual health or hygiene addresses the reproductive processes, functions, and systems at all stages of life. WHO states that reproductive health is a part of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Reproductive and Child Health Care Programme (RCH)

The first courageous action was taken by India nationally to attain the proper level of reproductive health and child well-being. The reproductive health and child health care programme was first launched in India in 1997, October. The aim of this project is to reduce the mortality rate of both mothers and infants. The main objectives of this programme are given below:

RCH-I

  • Quality, coverage, and effectiveness of existing family welfare services (The family welfare service was first initiated in 1951) have to be improved.
  • Gradually expansion of the coverage and scope of the family welfare services, eventually come to a defined package of essential RCH services.
  • Improvement and implementation of the management policy using participatory planning, simultaneously strengthening institutions to use and utilize maximum project resources.
  • Importance to disadvantaged areas should be given thereby increasing the quality and infrastructure of family welfare services.

RCH-II

  • The state is implementing the Family Welfare Planning Programme on a voluntary basis.
  • Expand services to the entire family sector of family welfare beyond RCH’s scope.
  • Decentralization should be done, which is helpful for better services to the family sector.
  • Evaluate the district, by continuous monitoring and reward them for better performance to support their work.
  • All states would be allowed to improve the program features, according to their need.

Need for Reproductive Health or Significance of Reproductive Health

The significance of reproductive health is as follows:

  • Awareness is provided to both males and females to lead healthy and satisfying reproductive life.
  • Providing information as to keep proper hygiene of genitalia.
  • Making individuals aware of sexual and reproductive health in pre-reproductive and reproductive age.
  • Obtaining protection of the reproductive tract against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
  • Obtaining treatment for reproductive disorders as early as possible after detection.
  • It provides protection for both mother and child from infectious diseases.
  • Rearing children with the best resources.

Some Important Abbreviations:

1. ART Assisted Reproductive Technology
2. AFT Amniotic Fluid Test
3. AIDS Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome
4. CDRI Central Drug Research Institute
5. ELISA Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay
6. GPA Global Programme of AIDS
7. GIFT Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer
8. HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
9. HMG Human Menopausal Gonadotropin
10. IMR Infant Mortality Rate
11. IVF Invitro Fertilization
12. IUD Intra Uterine Devices
13. LAM Lactational Amenorrhoea
14. MMR Maternal Mortality Rate
15. MTP Medical Termination of Pregnancy
16. NACO National AIDS Control Organisation
17. RCH Reproductive and Child Health Care
18. STD Sexually Transmitted Disease
19. ZIFT Zygote Intra-Fallopian Transfer

Some Important Discovery:

1. 1963 Scientist Bloomberg first discovered the surface antigen of Hepatitis B in the blood of Australians.
2. 1978 First test tube baby born in England.
3. 1981 HIV was discovered in America.
4. 1984 Scientist Ricardo Asch first discovered GIFT.
5. 1986 HIV detected in Tamilnadu.
6. 1986 First Test Tube Baby by Indira Hinduja (Mumbai) and Baidyanath Chakraborty (Kolkata).
7. 1986 Scientist Devrocy first discovered ZIFT.
8. 1986 Scientist Lippe first discovered IUD.
9. 2008 Scientists Francoise Barre and Lue Montagnier get the Nobel Prize for the discovery of HIV.
10. 2010 Scientist Robert Edward gets the Nobel prize for the discovery of the invitro fertilization process.

Problems and Strategies of Reproductive Health

Problems of Reproductive Health

  • Early Marriage: Children were often married off before attaining puberty.
  • Teenage lady: Teenage ladies are not physically fit to bear the foetus and nourish it properly.
  • Reproductively Immature Parents: Child marriages resulted in having children even when the parents were themselves reproductively immature.
  • MMR and IMR: The maternal and infant mortality rates are high.
  • Deformities: These are common in children of early marriage.
  • The health of Ladies: The ladies remain weak, anaemic, and easy prey to several diseases.
  • Personal Hygiene: There is little knowledge of personal hygiene and hygiene of reproductive organs among people. As a result, they are easily attacked by sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
  • Age: The peak reproductive years for a woman is the late 20s. Fertility decreases with increasing age. This decline becomes more rapid once one reaches the mid-30s. Nowadays, women and men are getting married after 30 or 35 years of age, which is causing problems regarding reproductive health.
  • Uncontrolled Population Growth: The harmful effects of uncontrolled population explosion without proper family planning must be known to everybody.
  • STD: Sexually transmitted diseases hamper the reproductive health of the parents.

Strategies of Reproductive Health

  • Sex education: Sex education should be included in school curricula. Proper sex education helps in having proper conceptions about various sex-related aspects, reproductive organs, changes during adolescence, harms of early sex, hygienic sexual practice, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
  • Awareness about Reproduction: Government should undertake policies and campaigns too through print media, street plays, and audio-visual media to create awareness among people about the process and the measures to prevent the spread of diseases.
  • Elders: It is one of the duties of elders like parents, teachers, and well-wishers to provide proper understandable sex-related information to young children.
  • Marriageable Age: Child marriage has been banned in India. The minimum marriageable age is now 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls.
  • Sex determination: There is now a statutory ban on the determination of foetal sex through amniocentesis and USG.
  • Research: Research for improved techniques of contraception is a continuing process. Saheli is a new nonsteroidal contraceptive pill to be taken once a week, has been developed by Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, India.
  • Family Welfare Information: All fertile couples and all other persons of marriageable age must be educated about available birth control methods or devices.

Population Explosion

The rapid increase in numbers of a particular species in a particular area, that beyond the carrying capacity of that area is called population explosion, especially, in the world’s human population. At the end of world war II, an accelerating birth rate and a decrease in human mortality rate can contribute to the population explosion. In the 18th century, after starting of the industrial revolution, the life expectancy goes higher and higher, and also the growth began to increase. More unexpectedly at the end of the century, it is estimated that the world population at just under 1 billion. But surprisingly at the end of the 20th century, the world population is going to 1.6 billion.

Causes of Overpopulation

  • Decline death rate.
  • Uncontrolled birth.
  • Better medical treatment.
  • Immigration.
  • Advanced technology to treat infertility.
  • Lack of family planning.
  • More hands to overcome poverty etc.

Consequences of Overpopulation

  • Scarcity of Natural Resources: Due to the increased population, the demands for natural sources get increase simultaneously. These higher demands could not be fulfilled properly because sources are not increased according to the population so scarcity of natural resources occurs.
  • Pressure on Land: Increased population, increased pressure on land due to more housing and industries to meet the general needs of the population.
  • Overpopulation gives rise to large families with low income, which generally reduces the standard of healthy living, and produces slums.
  • Unemployment occurs due to a discrepancy between high demand and fewer vacancies of jobs.
  • Degradation of the ecosystem occurs due to unhealthy sanitation, deforestation, and pollution led by the population.
  • Standard of Living: The standard of living deteriorates due to increased slum areas here and there, resulting in overpopulation.
  • Social Infrastructure: Rapidly growing population necessitates large investments in social infrastructure and diverts resources from directly productive assets. Due to the scarcity of resources, it is not possible to provide health, education, medical support, and housing facilities to the entire population.
  • The greater increase in world population, could not meet the energy requirements, thereby natural energy sources like petroleum, coal, etc. are decreasing rapidly, which can not be replaced. Heavy uses of vehicles are the main cause of the depletion of energy resources and the purity of the environment.