Contraception Options for Women Introduction and Background: Infant mortality is the fourth and sixth leading cause of death in Afghanistan (HEALTH PROFILE : AFGHANISTAN).According to The World Fact Book, 119.41 infants died per 1,000 live births, which is the highest infant mortality rate in the world. Infants die due to low birth weights, labor complications, and lack of family planning. On average a woman dies every 30 minutes in Afghanistan from a perinatal event; therefore, the infant mortality rate will remain at a high level (Johnson, 2011). Family planning provides safe alternatives to the risk of infant and maternal mortality; also, it is a low cost economical way to reduce maternal and fetal deaths in countries that lack adequate recourse for women (Diamond-Smith & Potts, 2011). Family planning is essential to the health of infants and expecting mothers. Babies born to mothers with no prenatal/family planning care are five times more likely to die than those born to mothers who received care (Guidotti, et al., 2009). Improving access to family planning options is a key element in the fight against infant mortality. Afghanistan has a total fertility rate of 5.54 (The World Fact book, 2013), but that rate could be higher according to, Infant and under-five mortality in Afghanistan: current estimates and limitations. Female births are often underreported due to the stigma of having girls in the Afghan culture (Viswanathan, et al., 2010). Also, speculations indicate that preference for boys can manifest itself before birth in sex-selective abortions and girls maybe neglected or treated unequally after birth which causes them to die. Women in Afghanistan lack education and resources to adequate healthcare; therefore,... ... middle of paper ... ...nalysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 4. The Lancet, Volume 375(9730), 1988-2008. Sato, M. (2007). Challenges and Successes in Family Planning. Management Sciences for Health, 1-22. The World Fact book. (2013). Retrieved from Centeral Intelligency Agency: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html Viswanathan, K., Becker, s., Hansen, P. M., Kumar, D., Kumar, B., Niayesh, H., . . . Burnham, G. (2010). Infant and under-five mortality in Afghanistan: current estimates and limitations . Bull World Health Organization , 576-583. Walsh, D. (2007). Afghanistan's midwives tackel maternal and infant health . The Lancet, 1299. What are the different types of contraception? (2012, November 30). Retrieved from National Institue of Health : http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/contraception/conditioninfo/pages/types.aspx
issue has been whether to send more contraception to poor countries or use other methods to help the women in more poverty areas. Family planning is the planning on when to have a child and the techniques used to follow that plan. Such techniques involve sex education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, preconception counseling and management, and infertility management. On the one hand, some people argue that sending contraception to women in other countries could help deal