With the recent data suggesting a substantial drop in the Total Fertility Rate of India (TFR), the health ministry has decided to lay more emphasis on spacing rather than limiting the children. With this aim in mind, the Union ministry is all set to launch a new birth control intrauterine device (IUD) — Suraksha 5 — that gives infection free protection for 5 years.
The ministry has decided to go full throttle in this direction and has asked the states to get the ANMs trained for inserting IUD. “Soon we will get all 2 lakh ANMs trained for this purpose. The facility will be provided at 1.5 sub centers. There will be counsellors available at the dictrict level hospital to inform and guide those who have come to deliver in the hospital so that IUD can be inserted during their stay in hospital,” said a senior official in the health ministry.
According to the recent data after a stagnation of over two years, the TFR, average number of children born to a woman during her productive years has dropped at the national level. While, it had remained stagnant in 2008 and 2009 at 2.6, the TFR has dropped in 2010 and now stands at 2.5. In fact Jammu and Kashmir is a new addition in joining the group of those states that have reached to the replacement level. The data also suggests that the percentage of those going for third or forth child has also gone relatively down.
“The results have been very encouraging. Even the most populous states have shown a drop in the TFR of .2 points. It has therefore been decided to focus on spacing rather than limiting. A new family planning initiative is all set to be launched,” said Anuradha Gupta, additional secretary in the health ministry.
The ministry has also asked the states to fix two days in a week when the service could be provided to the women. Since the new data has revealed that more women about 1.25 crore are delivering in a government center, Ms Gupta says that the initiative of the government will be significant in the long run.
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