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Family planning (United States) is the planning of when to have children,[1] the use of birth control[2][3] and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education,[3][4] prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections,[3] pre-conception counseling[3]and management, and infertility management.[2] Family planning is sometimes used in the wrong way also as a synonym for the use of birth control, though it often includes more. It is most usually applied to a female-male couple who wish to limit the number of children they have and/or to control the timing of pregnancy (also known as spacing children). Family planning may encompass sterilization, as well as abortion.[5] Family planning services are defined as "educational, comprehensive medical or social activities which enable individuals, including minors, to determine freely the number and spacing of their children and to select the means by which this may be achieved."[4]

Purposes Raising a child requires significant amounts of resources: time,[6] social, financial,[7] and environmental. Planning can help assure that resources are available. Besides the fact that people decide to have children to create a family, there are other reasons to such as, for religious belief, economic factors, to care for you at old age, and to carry the family name. Health See also: Maternal health and teenage pregnancy Waiting until the mother is at least 18 years old before trying to have children improves maternal and child health.[8] Also, if additional children are desired after a child is born, it is healthier for the mother and the child to wait at least 2 years after the previous birth before attempting to conceive (but not more than 5 years).[8] After a miscarriage or abortion, it is healthier to wait at least 6 months.[8]

-Birth control Main article: Birth control With assertions of overpopulation, there have been assertions that birth control is the answer. Birth control is techniques used to prevent unwanted pregnancy. There are a range of contraceptive methods, each with unique advantages and disadvantages. Any of the widely recognized methods of birth control is much more effective than no method. Behavioral methods that include intercourse, such as withdrawal and calendar based methods have little up front cost and are readily available, but are less effective in typical use than most other methods. Long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, such as IUD and implant are highly effective and convenient, requiring little user action. When cost of failure is included, IUDs and vasectomy are much less costly than other methods.

-Emergency Contraceptive (ECP) is an emergency contraceptive method used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. It is most effective when used within 12 hours of unprotected intercourse or contraceptive accident. It can be used up to 72 hours or three days after unprotected sex and only works if a woman is not already pregnant. It Interferes with egg development, prevents or delays ovulation, and inhibits fertilization. Birth control: -Abstinence -Cervical Cap -Condom (Male) -Depo-Provera -Diaphragm -ECP -Female Condom -Female Sterilization -Norplant -NuvaRing (The Ring) -Ortho Evra (The Patch) -The Pill -Vasectomy -Vaginal Spermicides -Withdrawal Modern methods Main article: Fertility tourism Some families use modern medical advances in family planning. For example in surrogacy treatments a woman agrees to become pregnant and deliver a child for another couple or person. In sperm donations, pregnancies are usually achieved using donated sperm by artificial insemination (either by intracervical insemination or intrauterine insemination) and less commonly by in vitro fertilization (IVF), usually known in this context as Assisted reproductive technology (ART), but insemination may also be achieved by a donor having sexual intercourse with a woman for the sole purpose of initiating conception. This method is known as naturalinsemination (NI).There is generally a demand for sperm donors who have no genetic problems in their family, 20/20 eyesight, with excellent visual acuity, a college degree, and sometimes a value on a certain height and age.[9][10]  If infertility wasn’t made to work there is always adoption. There is also non-martial childbearing when a family plans to have children before marriage. Finances See also: Family economics and Cost of raising a child Family planning is among the most cost-effective of all health interventions.[11] "The cost savings stem from a reduction in unintended pregnancy, as well as a reduction in transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV."[11] Childbirth and prenatal health care cost averaged $7,090 for normal delivery in the US in 1996.[12] US Department of Agriculture estimates that for a child born in 2007, a US family will spend an average of $11,000 to $23,000 per year for the first 17 years of child's life.[6] (Total inflation adjusted estimated expenditure: $196,000 to $393,000, depending on household income.)[6] Planning ahead has always been imperative in affecting the outcome of life-changing situations for everyone, which most certainly applies when it comes to pregnancy. Nearly fifty percent of the pregnancies nationwide each year is unplanned and the occurrence is far more prevalent among women under the age of 25 or with low income status. Lack of financial and emotional preparation often derives from unplanned parenthood that subsequently leads to a serious burden to the surrounding family members. Optional government aid became the only hope for many who are financially broken. Therefore, for women who are sexually active and have no intentions for parenthood, birth control pills offer a simple and effective deterrent to unplanned pregnancy. Policy

See also: United States Agency for International Development The world's largest international source of funding for population and reproductive health programs is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The main goals of the International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action are: •	Universal access to reproductive health services by 2015 •	Universal primary education and closing the gender gap in education by 2015 •	Reducing maternal mortality by 75% by 2015 •	Reducing infant mortality •	Increasing life expectancy •	Reducing HIV infection rates in persons aged 15–24 years by 25% in the most-affected countries by 2005, and by 25% globally by 2010 The World health organization (WHO) and World Bank estimate that $3.00 per person per year would provide basic family planning, maternal and neonatal health care to women in developing countries. This would include contraception, prenatal, delivery and post-natal care in addition to postpartum family planning and the promotion of condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections.[13]

In the United States, contraceptive use saves about $19 billion in direct medical costs each year.[18] Despite the availability of highly effective contraceptives, about half of US pregnancies are unintended.[18] Title X of the Public Health Service Act,[19] is a US government program dedicated to providing family planning services for those in need. The funding for Title X as a percentage of total public funding to family planning client services has steadily declined from 44% of total expenditures in 1980 to 12% in 2006. Medicaid has increased from 20% to 71% in the same time. In 2006, Medicaid contributed $1.3 billion to public family planning.[20]