Why family planning matters

Family planning is one of the principle tools of human development. Ensuring that all babies are wanted and planned reduces health care and social costs. Human numbers will increase to 11 billion by the end of this century, and human activities are the leading cause of environmental change that threaten our health and happiness. Therefore, the provision of highly effective contraceptive methods represents an important priority of primary medical care. Since women and men with complicated medical problems remain interested in sex, medical and surgical specialists need to understand how contraception and pregnancy will interact with the underlying condition. This paper discusses the interaction between population growth and the environment, and reviews modern methods of contraception