Family Planning: The Unmet Need

Family planning is the method of controlling the number of children in the family and spacing in between intervals of births either naturally or through the use of artificial contraceptives. There are said to be a number of methods or techniques that can be used towards this, however, the rise in the number of population, especially in poor countries is still high. This concern can also cause an impact on a woman’s reproductive health, and well-being. Unmet need for family planning refers to those of women who are fertile and sexually active but are not utilizing any method of contraception, and would also report that they do not want to conceive any more or want to delay the next child.

Ebola: 10 Things To Know About The Virus Disease

Alarming news has struck everyone this week about an outbreak of a viral disease in West Africa. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the disease has been spreading faster than efforts to control it. 

The virus disease kills 90% of those infected and. However, based on the reported number of lives lost which shows that failure to contain it could be catastrophic, as stated by WHO head Dr. Margaret Chan, the virus disease could be stopped if well managed.

What are the things we need to know about this virus disease? Let’s start first with this list of ten important facts.

Breastfeeding: 10 Reasons Why It Is Important

Breastfeeding is known as one of the first decisions a mother has to make. She has to know how to feed her baby to achieve healthy growth and development. During a baby or an infant’s early stage of development, it is advised that lactation should be observed adherently rather than having the baby feed on bottles or milk formulas.

The breast milk of a mother who has just given birth contains “colostrum” that consists of antibodies and nutrients a newborn baby needs as an early form of the body's health defence. Colostrum, the sticky yellowish substance produced at the end of pregnancy, is also recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth.¹

Breastfeeding: The Dilemma In Public

While some mothers prefer not to breastfeed at all, others have been having a dilemma on breastfeeding in a public place, well, for some obvious reasons such as; having the public's raising eyebrows and critique eyes glaring at them for exposing something private out in the open like they are committing a crime or something. Maybe they just have not heard of the saying that breastfeeding is best for babies, even in public.