Key Points

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), reproductive health is a state of total well-being in all aspects of reproduction, including physical, emotional, behavioural, and social aspects.

India was one of the first countries to initiate national-level 'family planning' programmes in 1951. These are now operated as the broader 'Reproductive and Child Health Care (RCH) programmes'.

The world population grew from 2 billion in 1900 to 6 billion by 2000. India's population reached 1.2 billion in May 2011, caused by a rapid decline in death rate, MMR, and IMR.

Amniocentesis is a foetal sex-determination and disorder test based on the amniotic fluid. It is legally banned for sex determination in India to prevent female foeticide.

An ideal contraceptive should be user-friendly, easily available, effective, and reversible with minimal side effects. It should not interfere with the sexual drive or act.

These methods avoid the meeting of ovum and sperm. They include periodic abstinence (avoiding coitus during the fertile period, days 10-17), coitus interruptus, and lactational amenorrhea.

Barrier methods physically prevent fertilization. Examples include condoms for males and females, diaphragms, cervical caps, and vaults, which also help prevent STIs.

IUDs are inserted into the uterus. Types include non-medicated (Lippes loop), copper-releasing (CuT, Cu7), and hormone-releasing (Progestasert, LNG-20) IUDs.

These are tablets containing progestogens or a progestogen-estrogen combination that inhibit ovulation and implantation. 'Saheli' is a non-steroidal 'once a week' pill developed in India.

These are terminal methods to prevent pregnancy. Vasectomy in males involves cutting the vas deferens, and tubectomy in females involves cutting the fallopian tube.

MTP is the intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy. Legalised in India in 1971, it is considered relatively safe during the first trimester (up to 12 weeks).

Infections transmitted through sexual intercourse are called STIs or venereal diseases (VD). Common examples include gonorrhoea, syphilis, genital herpes, chlamydiasis, hepatitis-B, and HIV/AIDS.

Prevention is possible by avoiding sex with unknown or multiple partners, always using condoms during coitus, and seeking medical help for early detection and treatment.

Infertility is the inability to conceive or produce children despite unprotected sexual cohabitation. The cause can be with the male, female, or both partners.

ART includes special techniques to help infertile couples have children. These advanced procedures require specialized professionals and expensive instrumentation.

IVF, or the 'test tube baby' programme, involves fertilisation of an ovum and sperm outside the body in a lab, followed by embryo transfer (ET) into the female's uterus or fallopian tube.

Key ARTs include ZIFT (Zygote Intra Fallopian Transfer), IUT (Intra Uterine Transfer), GIFT (Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer), and ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection).

In this technique, semen from a husband or healthy donor is artificially introduced into the vagina or uterus (IUI - Intra-Uterine Insemination) of the female.