ACCESS TO FAMILY-PLANNING-SERVICES - RELATIONSHIP WITH UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES AND PRENATAL OUTCOMES

Family planning services are important because they can prevent uninte nded pregnancies and improve prenatal outcomes. This paper uses second ary data to analyze trends in access to family planning services, with a particular focus on poor women and young women. Trends from the 198 0s showed a small decline in family planning visits and an upsurge in the percentage of births that were unwanted at the time of conception. These changes were particularly marked for poor women. Over the same decade, public expenditures for contraceptive services declined dramat ically The health insurance system with respect to family planning mus t be modernized to meet tate needs of women and couples today. Future improvements in infant health and survival will depend in large part o n ensuring that pregnancies ave intended and not the result of lack of access to effective family planning services.