B) Briefly discuss the impact of family planning on health and nutrition.
Answers
Answer:
Family planning indirectly affects nutrition via its impact on infant and young child feeding practices. When births are well spaced, mothers have more time, energy, and resources to adequately breastfeed and feed their young infants and children.
Answer:
Nutrition and reproductive health are closely connected and therefore nutrition should be a part of the family planning clinic. Research has established that oral contraceptive users undergo changes in the metabolism of certain nutrients; however such long-term effects as nutrient deficiencies have not been widely documented. Nevertheless, users of the pill should be encouraged to maintain a proper diet. IUD users have a greater chance of developing iron deficiency anemia due to longer periods and heavier bleeding. Teenagers should be the focus of the nutrition counselor as they often have poor eating habits. Nutritional status can also seriously affect the outcome of future pregnancies and thus pregnant women should also be a focus. Those doing nutrition counseling should: inform oral users that they may be at nutritional risk; inform IUD users about the importance of high-iron foods in their diets; use laboratory data and physical findings (weight for height, hematocrit/hemoglobin level, blood pressure) as a screening device for nutritional problems; provide written materials concerning proper foods; and compile a referral list of various associations which may be helpful in nutrition education.