What is family planning? Definition, benefits and methods explained 

Nothing in this article is or should be construed as medical advice; for any medical questions, consult your healthcare professional. 

Regardless of whether you have kids or not, you’ve probably heard the term family planning. While it’s often used as a euphemism for contraception, the term encompasses so much more. According to the World Health Organization, family planning empowers people to map out if and when they want children, how many children, and how far apart their children might be.^​​1 The idea of ​​family planning has helped countless women and families from all walks of life. Maybe you’ve been​​ family planning for years without knowing the official term!

So how did the concept of family planning originate, and how can it benefit women and families today? Here we take a look at what family planning really means.

Family planning: A quick history

While you might assume family planning is a newer idea, it began centuries ago. Even if the methods didn’t have scientific backing, women of the past used preventive measures from wreaths of herbs, to amulets, to animal bones, all for the sake of controlling when and how they had children.​​²

Thankfully, we’ve made big scientific strides since. Today's approach to ​​family planning reflects guidance from the CDC on improving preconception care, which recommends that everyone create a "reproductive life plan."^​​3 This simply means thinking about whether and when you want to have children — and importantly, how you'll take care of your reproductive health along the way. Today, ​​family planning includes modern routes to parenthood, such as adoption, surrogacy, intrauterine insemination and sperm donation. It also encompasses people who want to wait between children or anyone who hopes to have children in their later years, and using birth control if having a baby right now is not in your plan.  

​​What family planning really means today

Ultimately, the goal of ​​family planning is to meet the reproductive health needs of women. Today, the term “​​family planning” encompasses your complete reproductive health, including health screenings, counseling, education about your cycle, STI prevention, and access to reliable information — all designed to support your reproductive health journey, whatever it looks like.  

This matters because fertility myths and misinformation are everywhere. ​​Family planning gives you the tools and knowledge to make informed choices based on your real health needs, not ​​outdated advice or internet rumors.

The impact? According to the United Nations, nearly 1.1 billion women worldwide were using family planning resources in 2020, up from 900 million in 2000. When women have access to comprehensive healthcare and education, they take control of their reproductive health.​​⁴

The benefits of ​​family planning

​​​Family planning has had a huge impact, globally and locally. One notable positive change: F​​amily planning initiatives have massively lowered the rates of adolescent pregnancies. Compared to other age groups, women ages 15–19 years old have experienced the largest relative decrease in birth rates since 1990, according to a 2020 United Nations report.^​​4 Though some areas of the world still have unmet needs, educational programs and contraception access initiatives continue to make progress.

Even if children are decidedly not in your future, ​​family planning is still vital, whether you’re seeking a contraceptive method that works for you or tracking your period. After all, ​​family planning proposes that the choice to be childfree should be available to anyone who wants it. 

Family planning and ​birth control options

One of the largest components of ​​family planning is contraception, and you may choose different methods for different reasons. Your healthcare professional can discuss the pros, cons and effectiveness for each to help find the best fit for your lifestyle.

It’s important to note that effectiveness is measured by typical use and perfect use.⁵

• Typical use includes user error in its calculation — for example, forgetting to take a pill or incorrectly using a condom — and method failure, so the failure rate is usually higher.​​⁵  
• Perfect use looks at a method’s effectiveness if used exactly as intended every time.​​⁵ For example, if you’re taking your birth control pill every day at the same time, that would be considered a step toward “perfect use.”  

For some methods, such as birth control pills, fertility awareness or condoms, this distinction is critical when considering effectiveness. For other methods, such as IUDs, implants or sterilization, perfect use and typical use are largely the same because these methods are most often administered by a healthcare professional, and therefore user error is less likely to be a factor.​​⁵ 

Here are a few common contraception methods, with detailed stats on efficacy from The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG):

Birth control pills

• Efficacy: 99% effective with perfect use.⁵ 93% effective with typical use, according to ACOG.^​​6
• Pros: Convenient and commonly prescribed. Easy to stop if you’re trying to conceive.
• Things to consider: Requires consistency for perfect use. If you feel like taking a pill consistently and reliably isn’t realistic for your lifestyle, consider speaking to your doctor about other options. 

IUD

• Efficacy: 99.2 to 99.6% effective, according to ACOG.​​⁶  
• Pros: Long-lasting. Hormonal IUDs are generally approved for up to 8 years of use, and copper IUDs are generally approved for up to 10 years of use, according to ACOG.​​⁶  
• Things to consider: IUDs must be placed and removed by a healthcare professional, which is an uncomfortable experience for some women and requires planning ahead if you decide to try to conceive.  

Implants

• Efficacy: 99.9% effective, according to ACOG.​​⁶  
• Pros: Long-lasting, though not as long as an IUD. Implants are approved for up to three years of use.⁶
• Things to consider: Requires a healthcare professional to place and remove.  

Sterilization or vasectomy

• Efficacy: 99.5 to 99.85% effective, according to ACOG.​​⁶  
• Pros: Options available for men and women. Tubal ligation involves blocking, tying or cutting the fallopian tubes, which transport the egg from the ovaries to the uterus. Alternatively, male sterilization, or vasectomy, is one of the few contraceptive methods available to men and is typically done at an outpatient surgical center.^​​5  
• Things to consider: Both options are meant to be permanent procedures.  

Family planning education and care

Another key component to family planning is education and access to healthcare services. You might have learned the basics of your body in high school health class, but that can leave a lot of gaps when it comes to getting pregnant. What factors might affect your fertility? How long could it take to get pregnant? Schools, healthcare providers, government entities, educators and others may offer additional resources to fill in those gaps so women can make well-informed decisions about their reproductive health.

If you are looking to build your family, the best time to get pregnant varies from person to person, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Whether you’re trying to conceive your first child or thinking into the future to a second (or third!), ​​family planning can empower you to create a strategy for your reproductive future. 

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