Reproductive Health – Class
12 Biology Notes
1. What is Reproductive Health?
Reproductive health means a total well-being
(physical, emotional, behavioural, and social) in all
aspects of reproduction. A society with people
having healthy reproductive organs and normal
functioning is a reproductively healthy society.
Reproductively healthy society shows:
Physically and functionally normal reproductive
organs in individuals
Normal emotional and behavioural aspects of
sexual activity (safe sex, respect for partner's
decisions)
Legally acceptable planning of children with
proper knowledge
2. Reproductive and Child Health
Care (RCH) Programmes
Government of India started various programmes to
build a reproductively healthy society, called RCH
(Reproductive and Child Health Care).
Strategies adopted under RCH:
Creating awareness among people about
reproductive processes through audio-
visual/print media, health workers, doctors
Providing sex education in schools to
discourage children from myths/misconceptions
Educating parents and would-be parents about
pre-natal and post-natal care of mother and
child
Providing medical assistance and care for
problems like menstrual irregularities, STDs,
infertility, pregnancy, delivery, abortion,
contraception, menopause etc.
Research on reproduction-related areas (with
statutory and legal support) e.g., ART
techniques, contraception, MTP, STD detection,
infertility
Awareness about breast self-examination (BSE),
cervical cancer detection, medical termination
of pregnancy (MTP), amniocentesis (sex
determination test banned to prevent female
foeticide)
Results: Reduced maternal and infant mortality
rate, increased number of couples adopting small
family norms, decrease in menace of STDs.
3. Population Explosion
India's population reached over 1.3 billion (2011
census) — rapid population growth is a serious
problem.
Reasons for population explosion:
Rapid decline in death rate
Decline in maternal mortality rate (MMR)
Decline in infant mortality rate (IMR)
Increase in number of people in reproducible
age
Problems caused: Depletion of resources, poverty,
unemployment.
Steps taken by government:
Incentives to couples with small families
Raising marriageable age of girls to 18 years
and boys to 21 years
Various contraceptive methods popularized
through audio-visual/print media and health
workers
4. Contraceptive Methods
An ideal contraceptive should be: user-friendly,
easily available, effective, reversible, with no/least
side effects, and should not interfere with sexual
drive/desire/act.
A. Natural/Traditional Methods (based on
avoiding chances of ovum and sperm
meeting)
1. Periodic abstinence – couples avoid coitus
from day 10–17 of menstrual cycle (fertile
period, ovulation likely)
2. Withdrawal (coitus interruptus) – male
withdraws penis before ejaculation
3. Lactational amenorrhea – absence of
menstruation during intense lactation following
parturition (no ovulation, so no chance of
conception; effective up to 6 months)
B. Barrier Methods (prevent physical
contact of sperm with ovum)
Condoms – for male and female; made of thin
rubber/latex sheath; prevent pregnancy and
also protect from STDs
Diaphragms, cervical caps, vaults – barriers
made of rubber, inserted into female
reproductive tract to cover cervix during coitus;
reusable
C. IUDs (Intra Uterine Devices)
Inserted by doctors/nurses in the uterus through
vagina.
Non-medicated IUDs – e.g., Lippes loop
Copper releasing IUDs (CuT, Cu7) – Cu ions
released suppress sperm motility and fertilizing
capacity
Hormone releasing IUDs (Progestasert, LNG-
20) – make uterus unsuitable for implantation,
cervix hostile to sperm
IUDs are the most widely accepted contraceptive by
women in India.
D. Oral Contraceptives (Pills)
Small doses of progestogen or progestogen-
estrogen combination taken orally by females.
Mechanism: inhibit ovulation and implantation;
alter quality of cervical mucus to prevent/retard
sperm entry
Taken daily for 21 days starting within first 5
days of menstrual cycle
Saheli – new oral contraceptive for females;
contains non-steroidal preparation; once-a-
week pill
E. Injectables and Implants
Progestogens alone or in combination with
estrogen can also be used as injections or implants
(under skin) by females; effective for longer
periods.
F. Emergency Contraceptives (ECPs)
Progestogens or progestogen-estrogen
combinations, or IUDs, used within 72 hours of
coitus as emergency measures to avoid unwanted
pregnancy (in cases of rape or failure of other
contraceptives).
G. Surgical Methods (Sterilisation) — highly
effective, permanent
Vasectomy (in males) – small part of vas
deferens cut/tied through a small incision on
scrotum
Tubectomy (in females) – small part of fallopian
tube (oviduct) cut/tied through small incision in
abdomen/vagina
5. Medical Termination of
Pregnancy (MTP) / Induced
Abortion
Intentional/voluntary termination of pregnancy
before full term.
When MTPs are indicated (needed):
Pregnancies due to rapes
Pregnancies with harmful effects on mother or
foetus (genetic/physical abnormalities)
Unwanted pregnancies (contraceptive failure)
Legal status: Legalised in India in 1971, with several
restrictions, to check indiscriminate and illegal
female foeticide.
Important points:
MTPs are considered relatively safe during the
first trimester (up to 12 weeks); second
trimester abortions are riskier
Illegal (quack, unqualified) abortions are still
rampant, especially in rural areas, and are
unsafe, often leading to death or complications
MTP facility is misused for female foeticide via
illegal sex determination (banned under PNDT
Act)
6. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
(STDs) / RTIs (Reproductive Tract
Infections)
Diseases/infections transmitted through sexual
contact. Also called Venereal Diseases (VD) or STIs.
Examples: Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Genital herpes,
Chlamydiasis, Genital warts, Trichomoniasis,
Hepatitis-B, HIV (leading to AIDS)
Note: Among these, only Hepatitis-B, genital
herpes, and HIV infections are incurable.
Early symptoms: Itching, fluid discharge,
swellings/growths in genital area, pain during
urination — but many cases, especially in females,
are asymptomatic (no early symptoms) and are
identified only at later stages when complications
arise. This is dangerous because it can lead to
pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility,
abortions, still births, ectopic pregnancies, or even
cancer of reproductive tract.
Prevention of STDs:
Avoid sex with unknown/multiple partners
Always use condoms during coitus
In case of doubt, consult a qualified doctor for
early detection and complete treatment
Note: STDs are more common among people in the
age group of 15–24 years.
7. Infertility
Inability of a couple to produce a child even after 2
years of unprotected cohabitation/sex.
Causes of infertility (physical, congenital,
diseases, drugs, immunological, or even
psychological):
Physical, congenital abnormalities
Diseases (STDs like gonorrhoea, mumps in
adults)
Drugs, alcohol/tobacco abuse
Immunological reasons
Psychological reasons
Increasing number of couples visit infertility clinics
for medical assistance (Assisted Reproductive
Technology).
8. Assisted Reproductive
Technologies (ART)
Special techniques to help couples who cannot
produce children through normal methods.
Technique Full Form / Meaning
In Vitro Fertilisation – "test tube
baby" programme; fertilisation of
ovum with sperm outside the body
IVF
(in almost similar conditions as in the
body); embryo then transferred into
fallopian tube (ZIFT) or uterus (IUT)
Zygote Intra Fallopian Transfer –
ZIFT transfer of zygote (formed by in vitro
fertilisation) into fallopian tube
Intra Uterine Transfer – transfer of
IUT embryo (with more than 8
blastomeres) into uterus
Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer –
transfer of an ovum collected from a
donor into the fallopian tube of
GIFT another female who cannot produce
ova but can provide suitable
environment for fertilisation and
further development
Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection –
ICSI sperm is directly injected into the
ovum to form an embryo in the lab
IUI Intra Uterine Insemination – semen
collected from husband or a healthy
donor is artificially introduced into
Technique Full Form / Meaning
the vagina or uterus of the female
(artificial insemination); used when
male partner cannot inseminate
female / has very low sperm count
9. Amniocentesis
A foetal sex determination test based on the
chromosomal pattern in the amniotic fluid
surrounding the developing embryo.
Legally banned in India (under PNDT Act – Pre-
Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act) for sex
determination due to its misuse in female
foeticide, since female child ratio is declining
alarmingly
It can be used legitimately for detecting certain
genetic/metabolic disorders in the foetus
10. Sex Education in Schools
Should be made available to children so that
they get correct information about
reproduction-related aspects instead of getting
wrong information/myths from unreliable
sources
Would help them lead a reproductively healthy
life
Provides information on reproductive organs,
adolescence, safe/hygienic sexual practices,
STDs, AIDS, HIV, contraceptive methods,
menstrual cycle, etc.
Quick Revision Points (Likely
Subjective Q&A)
1. Define reproductive health. — State of total
physical, emotional, behavioural, and social
well-being in matters relating to reproductive
system.
2. Why was amniocentesis banned? — To prevent
its misuse in determining sex of foetus, leading
to female foeticide.
3. Difference between contraceptive methods
and MTP — Contraceptives prevent
fertilisation/implantation; MTP is termination of
an already established pregnancy.
4. Why are oral pills effective? — Inhibit ovulation
and implantation, alter cervical mucus
consistency.
5. STDs curable vs incurable — All curable if
detected early and treated fully, EXCEPT genital
herpes, hepatitis-B, and HIV infections.
6. Difference between ZIFT and IUT — ZIFT:
zygote/early embryo (up to 8 blastomeres)
transferred to fallopian tube; IUT: embryo with
more than 8 blastomeres transferred to uterus.
7. What is GIFT used for? — Females who cannot
produce ova but can provide a suitable
environment for fertilisation/development.