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98
Family Planning
In this country, over 160,000 unwanted children are born each
year. Dangers from maternal exhaustion arising from too many
pregnancies, neglected toddlers in families with an ever-present
new baby, over-worked and tired parents of large and unspaced
families with consequent reduction in living standards and, in some
instances, the blind perpetuation of hereditary defects must lead
most thinking people to the conclusion that the case for family
planning is not only overwhelming but that knowledge of contraception is an inalienable human right. In this respect the Family
Planning Act of 1967 is a considerable advance, statutorily, over
the previous position. Moreover, with the introduction of the
"pill", contraception has been made easier and therefore more of
a "saleable" health commodity.
Despite adverse publicity, thromboembolic complications associated with the use of oral contraceptives are uncommon and,
with the introduction of pills with lower hormone levels, these are
becoming even rarer—much less than those accompanying normal
pregnancy.
It is a mistake, however, to imagine that the mere provision of
clinics and facilities for birth control is sufficient. There is a clamant
need for health education in a field which is riddled with ignorance, prejudice and anti-planning propaganda, not to say acute
embarrassment and natural human reticence and inertia.
Attitudes can be changed by mass media and group discussion
but probably the most effective method is individual counselling
by someone with a medical or nursing background. General practitioners, even if interested and willing to allocate the necessary
time, are not case-finders and, in any event, can only advise selfreferrals and relatively few women will spontaneously consult the
family doctor on such a subject. With her teaching ability, technical knowledge and her long tradition of acceptance by the family
as a friend and counsellor, who better than the health visitor to
undertake such an important task.
However, under the 1967 Act, this Council uses the Family
Planning Association on an agency basis which is financially more
expedient and, during 1969 grants in respect of this service
amounted to £12,173. Cases attending the Greenwich clinics listed
below numbered 4,060, a total almost 40% greater than for 1968.
Over the same period clinic sessions rose from 521 to 773 and new
patients from 956 to 1,275.