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Family Planning
It is generally accepted that perinatal and maternal mortality
rise after the third child and experience has shown that children of
spaced and limited families tend to be healthier. Moreover, the
qualities of tranquil love and calm affection which, in the normal
home, enable the very young to develop stable personalities, are
threatened by the advent of the unexpected and unplanned pregnancy.
A law recently enacted in Denmark makes it obligatory for a woman
who has just had a baby to be offered contraceptive advice by her
doctor.
Family planning affords relief from the economic consequences
of a family too large for parents effectively to handle and amelioration
of the tensions, ill-temper, neuroses and mental disability born
of fatigue, frustration, anxiety and depression all too frequently met
with in the prolific household. Furthermore, recourse to the 'backstreet'
abortionist as a solution is rendered less inviting.
Other practical advantages accruing from the adoption of
family planning are, less 'problem' families and a corresponding
reduction in demands made on the local health and welfare services.
Regular family planning clinics held at six welfare centres in
the Borough and staffed by members of the Family Planning Association,
offer advice not only on contraception but on other marital