Family Planning as a Priority for Maternal and Child Health

Maternal, perinatal, Infant and child mortality rates in the developing world are significantly higher than in Industrialized countries. Much of this mortality is attributable to pregnancies “too young, too old, too many and too close.” It Is therefore obvious that the potential impact of family planning on maternal and child health can be immense. Such measures successfully implemented will improve the health of women by enabling them to have children when they are best prepared for them, thereby avoiding the complications of a high-risk pregnancy.

This paper reviews the world literature in an attempt to stress the need for recognising family planning as an important public health priority. It also discusses some of the socio-demographic changes that have occurred in Singapore as a result of unique family planning policies and their contribution to an overall improvement in maternal and child health in this Republic.