Family planning services are designed to help you plan the size of your family. Depending on your family goals, these services can help you prepare for pregnancy or prevent pregnancy. In short, family planning is about creating your family the way you want it.
Dr. Essam Taymour and our team at Gynecology and Obstetrics Medical Group provide a range of family planning services to help you create the family size that’s right for you. Below, we discuss how an OB/GYN can help and what specific services we offer.
Family planning is more than contraception
There’s a common misconception that family planning is synonymous with contraception. While preventing a pregnancy is one aspect of family planning, the services an OB/GYN provides do much more when it comes to your decisions about having children.
Planning for pregnancy
Before you’re pregnant, OB/GYN care can help you plan for the healthiest pregnancy possible. This includes guidance on making any lifestyle changes that may promote better chances of a successful conception. For example, if you’re actively trying to conceive, you can benefit from:
- Starting to take prenatal vitamins, which studies show can help reduce the risk of neural tube defects
- Following a nutrient-dense diet
- Stopping smoking and drinking alcohol
- Reviewing any medications you take
Some women may need to manage underlying health conditions before trying to conceive. If you think you’d like to start a family soon, it’s a good idea to meet with Dr. Taymour first to review any changes you might need to make prior to starting a family.
On the other hand, if you’ve already been trying to conceive without success, OB/GYN care can help you deal with fertility issues.
Spacing pregnancy
Some women may want to have another child soon after their first, while others may prefer to space pregnancies apart. Spacing pregnancies can also be a matter of safety. For example, if you’ve had a C-section, you may be advised to wait at least 18 months before conceiving again.
This type of family planning is called interpregnancy care, and it promotes good health for you and your future pregnancies. Interpregnancy care begins during your postpartum period.
This also includes women who have had miscarriages. Dr. Taymour can help you identify the safest timeline to become pregnant again based on factors like whether you had a miscarriage, D&C, C-section, or complications with birth, delivery, or miscarriage.
Preventing pregnancy
Maybe your family is complete, or perhaps you don’t want any children. Family planning services include contraception to help you prevent pregnancy temporarily, space pregnancies, or to avoid pregnancy altogether. Birth control is a personal decision, but your health plays a big role in determining which type is right for you.
Examples of temporary or reversible birth control include:
- Birth control pills
- Intrauterine devices (IUDs)
- Vaginal rings
- Hormonal birth control patches
- Birth control shots
- Diaphragms
If your family is complete, permanent birth control is available. Tubal ligation prevents pregnancies by blocking the ability of sperm to reach an egg in your fallopian tube.
How can family planning benefit you?
Whether you’re just starting your family journey or you’re looking for a new birth control option, family planning services with an experienced OB/GYN allow you to receive the care you need with the customized family planning that’s right for you.
You can request an appointment at our office in Long Beach, California, via our convenient online booking tool or by calling us at 562-247-3038.