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Reproductive health and Adolescence are terms that define the physical, mental, and social well-being of young adults which are great parts of everyone’s life. A healthy reproductive system during adolescence lays a foundation for the overall well-being of a person.
A healthy lifestyle is a universal concept about which many organizations have come forward with great initiatives to spread awareness. It is essential to prevent both physical and mental inflictions and infections. Adolescent health is hence a great power that comes from the ability to adapt to constant physical changes, stress, and changes in the environment.
Good health is necessary for all ages, especially the younger age where development is the most. Hence, all our actions matter, and a healthy lifestyle opens doors to a healthy body and mind. This article discusses the components of good reproductive health, its importance, awareness measures in place, and associated problems.
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Key Terms: Health, Reproductive Health, Adolescent, Balanced Diet, Reproductive System, Personal Hygiene, Pregnancy, Drugs, Family Planning, Sex Education, Birth Control
Also Read: Nutrition in Human Beings
What is Reproductive Health and Adolescence?
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Health is the absence of ailments and diseases in the body and mind. Health is a condition that is constantly evolving and functioning in a state of adaptation to stress and changes in the environment. Maintaining a good health both physically and mentally is the gateway to a productive body and mind.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines reproductive health as the overall health of all aspects of the reproductive system, including reproductive behavior, condition, and well-being of mind, body, and relationships. Thus, healthy living or healthy people need to have a healthy reproductive system.
Adolescence
Adolescence is a stage of human development where an individual attains the maturity to understand sexual and mental developments. This shift in the developmental stage means one should strictly adhere to hygiene routines. To be healthy, an individual needs to practice personal hygiene (personal hygiene) as well as social hygiene.
Adolescence: Stages of Development
Also Read: Hormones
Importance of Reproductive Health
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Reproductive health plays a significant role in the emotional and mental well-being of an individual. Adopting unhealthy lifestyles during the early years can create damage to health, especially reproductive health. Fertility, a prominent aspect of reproductive health gets compromised owing to unhealthy eating habits or overall hygiene.
Reproduction is an important phase in everyone’s life however, during the preconception time, it is extremely necessary to adhere to safety measures so as to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. Apart from draining an individual physically, exposure to unsafe practices takes a toll on the mental health as well.
Maintaining Good Reproductive Health
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Apart from personal and social hygiene, the following are some of the important components of good reproductive health.
A Well-Balanced Diet
For all age groups, a healthy and balanced diet needs to be ensured. Young people need to eat well because growth depends on the food they eat. Some of the important components of a healthy diet are nutrients such as fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. They are available in different food items like roti, rice, ragi balls, bread, salad, soups, meat, milk, curd, eggs, etc. Leafy and fruit vegetables are rich in all kinds of nutrients. But today fast food, junk food, and other baked products are becoming more popular among young people. Eating such food on a daily basis can lead to many long-term diseases, like obesity and vitamin deficiencies, slower physical and brain development, etc.
Components of a Balanced Diet
Read More: Balanced Diet
Personal Hygiene
On a personal level, personal hygiene includes good physical activity, rest, and sleep. Once the adolescence stage begins, there are multiple changes noted in the overall body of a male or female child as part of the early stages of puberty. Some of the notable changes include an increased rate of sweating, hair growth on the face, armpits, and groin, pimple outbreaks, change in voice, development of breasts, etc. Therefore, it is important to regularly carry out hygiene by ensuring washing of hands, bathing, and washing clothes. Female children would start using menstrual pads which should be changed frequently and proper sanitation to be followed in the process. Regular walking, and indulging in outdoor and indoor exercise help teens stay healthy and fit.
Ways to Practice Personal Hygiene
Unwanted Pregnancy
The Marriage Act of India states the marriageable age for both boys and girls as 21 years. This age limit is fixed so because children under this age are very young and comparatively less mature both mentally and physically. Marriage involves responsibilities and challenges which are difficult to handle. This is the same scenario with unwanted pregnancies as well. Below the age of 21 years, an adult is considered less mature to handle parenthood. Thus, following safety measures during sexual intercourse can prevent unwanted pregnancies and ensure that there are no complications related to health in young adults.
Read More: Embryology
No Drugs
The hormonal changes happening in an adolescent’s body also play a role in influencing their mind and body. As a result, during this time, young people often develop a dependence on alcohol, smoking, and drugs. This goes on to become an addiction in extreme cases. In turn, the internal organs of the body are greatly affected and prone to diseases. The overall physical and social well-being is also compromised.
Reproductive Health Awareness Measures
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Having understood the gravity of the topic, the government of India has come up with several schemes and awareness measures to impact knowledge on the significance of reproductive health. Adolescent children are given counselling in schools and other educational institutions to make them self-aware of their bodies and mentor them to lead a healthy lifestyle. Some of them are listed below:
- Family Planning Programmes: These have been put in place since 1951 wherein young couples are educated on enhancing the quality of family life.
- Sex Education: Schools are equipped to provide needed guidance during the early years so that children are well aware of the developmental changes happening in their bodies. Children are prevented from taking adverse steps hampering their personal well-being.
- Birth control options and pregnancy classes: These are available at all medical institutions across the country. Several camps are held annually to educate young couples on reproductive health and override the myths.
- Access to medical facilities: Young adults can avail all the needed assistance with regard to menstruation problems, pregnancy-related issues, contraceptive failures, and other aspects of reproductive health.
Things to Remember
- Reproductive health is the state of physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system.
- Satisfying and safe sex life as well as the freedom and ability to choose when and how are vital for ensuring good reproductive health.
- Unhealthy lifestyles in the early years are detrimental to sexual and reproductive health as well as overall health.
- Fertility is the key factor that gets compromised when reproductive health is neglected.
- Factors such as the menstrual cycle, healthy relationships, and safety measures are essential pillars for reproductive health.
- Key aspects of reproductive health maintenance include hygiene, drug abuse, nutrition, and health care.
- Adolescent health is affected when there is a premature marriage and birth, miscarriage, infections or sexually transmitted diseases, and gender discrimination.
- Sex education for a student in schools can help prevent early pregnancies and pre-mature baby births.
Also Read: Sexual Reproduction
Sample Questions
Ques. What are the services available for adolescent reproductive health? (3 marks)
Ans. The services available are
- Access to sexual and reproductive health information
- Information about the available contraceptive measures
- Counselling
- Medical Care for all especially girls and pregnant women
- Awareness creation to prevent sexually transmitted infections
Ques. What are the challenges to adolescent reproductive health? (3 marks)
Ans. The challenges are listed as follows:
- Unwanted pregnancies, abortions, miscarriage, use of contraceptives
- Spread of sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and AIDS
- Mental and emotional breakdown due to unwanted addictions
- Lack of proper nutrition in the diet during the early years
Ques. In the case of an infertile couple, the male partner in the couple can inseminate normally, but the mobility of his sperm is below 40 percent. Can you judge, which kind of ART is suitable in this kind of condition to form an embryo in the lab, without involving any suitable donor ? (2 marks) [CBSE 2018]
Ans. In the case of an infertile couple in the scenario, the male partner in the couple can inseminate normally, but the mobility of his sperms is below 40%, Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) kind of ART is suitable to form a functional embryo in the laboratory, without involving a suitable donor
Ques. Our government has intentionally imposed strict conditions for M. T. P. use. Justify your answer by giving a reason. (2 marks) [CBSE 2017]
Ans. Our government has recently imposed strict conditions and guidelines for M. T. P. use in the country to prevent female foeticides, maintain the female sex ratio, and avoid any danger for a very young mother and her fetus.
Ques. Name an IUD that you can recommend to promote the cervix hostility to sperms in the vagina. (2 marks) [CBSE 2014]
Ans. The hormone that releases lUD’s like progestagen and LNG-20 can be recommended to promote the cervix hostility to sperms in the vagina.
Ques. State a reason why and how breastfeeding of the baby acts as a natural contraceptive for the lactating mother? (2 marks) [CBSE 2014]
Ans. During lactation or breastfeeding the baby delays or controls the onset of the menstruation cycle and ovulation cycle. It is due to the interference of lactation hormones. Hence, the chances of new conception are hardly possible during this period, i.e. up to six months after birth and lactation. Therefore, breastfeeding a baby may act as a natural contraceptive for a mother to avoid further fertilization.
Ques. What is meant by amniocentesis? How is it misused in society? (2 marks) [CBSE 2014]
Ans. Amniocentesis is a prenatal diagnostic test. It is based on the chromosomal pattern of the cells in the amniotic fluid. This fluid is found around the developing fetus in the womb of the mother. Statutory ban on amniocentesis is there to avoid its misuse, to detect the sex of the pre-born child, and to control female foeticide
Ques. How do some surgical procedures prevent conception in human beings? Mention the way this procedure is adapted in human males. (2 marks) [CBSE 2008]
Ans. Surgical procedures are done to prevent conception by blocking gamete transport in males. In human males, this surgical procedure is called vasectomy. In this kind of surgery, a small section of the vas deferens is scissored or tied up through a small incision on the scrotal sac.
Ques. If the implementation of good techniques and new methods are required to provide more efficient use and help to people, then why is there a statutory ban on the amniocentesis technique? Write the use of this controversial technique and give reasons to justify the ban. (3 marks) [CBSE 2014]
Ans. Amniocentesis makes it possible to determine chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders, and the sex of the fetus. It is done by using a minute quantity of amniotic fluid, around the fetus. This prenatal diagnostic test is most useful for those women or would be babies who are at more risk of having genetic disorders. Because of the misuse of the method, especially to determine the sex of the fetus, and female foeticides, the government has imposed a statutory ban.
Ques. Describe any 3 steps taken up by our government to check the population growth rate in the country. (3 marks) [CBSE 2016]
Ans. The steps taken by our government are :
(i) Motivate to have smaller families.
(ii) Maximum number of two children with slogan ‘hum do hamare do’.
(iii) Statutory raising of marriageable age of both the male and female 21 years, recently.
Ques. Suggest and explain briefly the assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) which will help any couple to have fewer children, where the female had a blockage in her fallopian tube and the male partner had a low sperm count in his system. (3 marks) [CBSE 2018]
Ans. The ART technique can be explained as follows:
- When the male partner is suffering from low sperm count, the Intracytoplasmic sperm injection technique can be used to inject sperm directly into the ovum.
- As the female partner is having a blockage in her fallopian tube, In vitro fertilization technique, followed by the embryo transfer technique (ET) will help her to conceive.
- In this case, sperms from the male partner are collected and injected into the ovum of the female to form a zygote under some simulated conditions in the laboratory and an embryo with more than 8 blastomeres will be transferred and where it completes its further development.
Ques. A village health worker had been taking a session with women. She would tell the women that one has to be very careful and cautious while using oral pills as a method of birth control. Wrong usage can actually promote conception.
(i) Analyze the above statement and write both merits and demerits
(ii) Village women might have been confused as to how a thin metallic copper loop can provide protection against pregnancy. Justify the use by explaining the mode of action of IUDs in family planning. (5 marks) [CBSE 2018]
Ans. (i) Contraceptive pills
Merits:
- Pills are more effective with lesser side effects and are well accepted by females in India.
- It is a reversible method
Demerits:
- If not taken on the right days of the menstrual cycle, they may promote conception.
- They can have side effects if taken for a long duration of time.
(ii) Surgical method
Merits:
- Surgical intervention will block gametic transport.
- It is highly effective. In allowing for division forming 8 blastomere- stages. The zygote gets transferred into the fallopian tube. The regular development thus continues. It is also called ZIFT.
Demerits:
- It is not reversible.
- It can affect the health of a person if performed in unhygienic conditions.
(ii) Mode of action of IUDs
- IUDs increase phagocytosis of sperms within the uterus of the female.
- Cu++ ions released suppress sperm, avoid motility, and reduce fertility. and capacity of sperms.
- Some hormone-releasing IUDs make the uterus unsuitable for implantation or the cervix becomes hostile to the entered sperms.
Read more:
| Related Links | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Health | What is Reproduction? | Changes in Puberty |
| Adolescence and Puberty | Human Reproductive System | Male and Female Reproductive Organs |
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