Family Planning Program Questions and Answers

We would be happy to provide a Family Planning service to you, or answer any of your questions, at Women’s Healthcare of Illinois! For more information, call us now or schedule an appointment online. We have convenient locations to serve you.

Family planning is an integral part of healthcare. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) calls family planning one of the ten most important public health achievements within the past century! As such, it is a great healthcare resource that any sexually active person can benefit from.

What is the purpose of family planning?

The primary purpose of family planning is to prevent mistimed, undesired, or unintended pregnancies and to help parents find the resources needed to raise their child, or children, successfully. Family planning also reduces the need for a pregnancy to end in termination, particularly those that are unsafe, and it has also been shown to reduce birth rates in teenage girls.

With unintended pregnancies there is an increased risk of maternal depression, prenatal care delays, and physical violence during pregnancy. Moreover, there is also a reduced likelihood that the baby will be breastfed if they are the product of an unintended pregnancy. As such, family planning is in the best interest of both parents and children.

Other objectives or purposes of family planning include the following:

• to help individuals conceive who are having difficulty getting pregnant
• to increase the proportion of intended pregnancies
• to increase the use of safe contraceptive methods
• to reduce the number of pregnancies occurring within 18 months of a previous birth
• to decrease the risk and number of teenage pregnancies
• to reduce sexual activity for adolescents aged 17 and younger
• to increase the use of condoms or other contraceptive methods among sexually active adolescents or single people
• to make reproductive health topics and knowledge more widespread among adolescents younger than 18 years old, whether through formal instruction or parental guidance

Is there a family planning program near me in Illinois?

If you live in the areas of Mokena or Evergreen Park, we would be happy to provide you with a family planning program at Women’s Healthcare of Illinois! Our team of board-certified obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs), nurse practitioners, and midwives have a wealth of experience and expertise in providing highly informative and helpful family planning programs to individuals of various ages and marital statuses, including adolescents, single adults, and cohabiting or married couples.

If you live elsewhere in Illinois, a handy resource to find family planning programs in your area is the clinical locator at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IHFS).

What is included in a family planning program?

Family planning programs cover a broad range of topics and services, which vary for each program depending on the individual or couple’s stage of life or particular family planning needs. A family planning program could include any of the following:

• Contraceptive services for individuals who wish to prevent pregnancy or space out births
• Early pregnancy assessments
• Health screenings
• High-risk pregnancy assessments
• Infertility management and treatment
• Management and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases or infections (STDs or STIs)
• Preconception counseling
• Pregnancy testing and care
• Prenatal genetic counseling
• Sex education
• Treatment for conditions that cause infertility, such as endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Examples of contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include birth control pills, intrauterine devices (IUDs), diaphragms, condoms, and others.

Women’s Healthcare of Illinois is pleased to provide family planning programs to individuals in Mokena and Evergreen Park, Illinois. For more information or an appointment with us, please feel free to call us, or you can schedule an appointment on our website. We serve patients from Evergreen Park IL, Mokena IL, Oak Lawn IL, Chicago Ridge IL, Hickory Hills IL, Bridgeview IL, and Bedford Park IL.