Question

Give two reasons for avoiding frequent pregnancies of women.

Explain the following methods of contraception giving one example of each :
(i) Barrier method
(ii) Chemical method
(iii) Surgical method

Answer 1

Pregnancy:

1. A period when an embryo develops inside the womb of the mother.
2. The total time of pregnancy from fertilization of gametes to birth is known as the gestation period.

Reasons for avoiding frequent pregnancies of women:

1. Frequent pregnancy can affect the health of the mother. The uterus does not recover completely to undergo frequent pregnancy and does chances of failure becomes more.
2. Unwanted pregnancies can also lead to a population explosion.

Contraception:

1. Contraception can be defined as the process to avoid the fusion of male and female gametes to form the zygote.

Barrier method:

1. Barrier methods prevent the entry of sperm into the genital tract of females during copulation.
2. For example, Copper T, diaphragm, cervical caps, condoms, etc.

Chemical methods:

1. Chemical methods are used along with the barrier method to increase the efficiency of contraception.
2. It includes the use of spermicidal substances like jellies, tablets, and creams in the vagina for about 5-10 minutes before sexual intercourse.
3. It kills the sperm and thus prevents pregnancies.

Surgical methods:

1. Surgical methods are the permanent or terminal method to prevent pregnancy, where the gametes will never fuse with each other.
2. For example, tubectomy, and vasectomy.
3. Tubectomy is the surgical method done in females in which the fallopian tubes are cut and tied so that the eggs cannot be released and passed on to the uterus.
4. Vasectomy is the surgical method done in males in which the vasdeferens are cut and tied so that the sperm cannot pass through it.