Reproductive Health

Definition
  • A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease/ infirmity in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes.
Basic RH Rights
  • Right to RH information and health care services for safe pregnancy and childbirth
  • Right to know different means of regulating fertility to preserve health and where to obtain them
  • Freedom to decide the number and timing of birth of children
  • Right to exercise satisfying sex life
Factors/ Determinants of RH
  • Socioeconomic conditions – education, employment, poverty, nutrition, living condition/ environment, family environment
  • Status of women – equal right in education and in making decisions about her own RH; right to be free from torture and ill treatment and to participate in politics
  • Social and Gender Issues
  • Biological (individual knowledge of reproductive organs and their functions), cultural (country’s norms, RH practices) and psychosocial factors
Elements
  • Maternal and Child Health Nutrition
  • Family Planning
  • Prevention and Management of Abortion Complications
  • Prevention and Treatment of Reproductive Tract Infections, including STDs, HIV and AIDS
  • Education and Counseling on Sexuality and Sexual Health
  • Breast and Reproductive Tract Cancers and other Gynecological Conditions
  • Men’s Reproductive Health
  • Adolescent Reproductive Health
  • Violence Against Women
  • Prevention and Treatment of Infertility and Sexual Disorders
Selected Concepts
  • RH is the exercise of reproductive right with responsibility
  • It means safe pregnancy and delivery, the right of access to appropriate health information and services
  • It includes protection from unwanted pregnancy by having access to safe and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice
  • It includes protection from harmful reproductive practices and violence
  • It ensures sexual health for the purpose of enhancement of life and personal relations and assures access to information on sexuality to achieve sexual enjoyment
Goal
  • To achieve healthy sexual development and maturation
  • To achieve their reproductive intention
  • To avoid diseases, injuries and disabilities related to sexuality and reproduction
  • To receive appropriate counseling and care of RH problems
Strategies
  • Increase and improve the use of more effective or modern contraceptive methods
  • Provision of care, treatment and rehabilitation for RH
  • RH care provision should be focused on adolescents, men and unmarried and other displaced people with RH problems
  • Strengthen outreach activities and referral system
  • Prevent specific RH problems through information dissemination and counseling of clients