Family planning in Bangladesh is carried out by government agencies and supported by non-government organisations. The

Directorate General of Family Planning Directorate General of Family Planning is a government agency responsible for family planning in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. History Family Planning Board and Family Planning Council was established in 1972. In August 1975 ...

is the government agency responsible for family planning in Bangladesh.

Marie Stopes Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classificati ...

Bangladesh is an international NGO that provides family planning services in Bangladesh. In 1975 the population of Bangladesh was 76.3 million, and by 2020 the population had reached 164.7 million. Bangladesh has a fertility rate of 2.01, which, according to

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies a ...

, makes it a "low fertility country". Bangladesh has a high population density, with about 1123.85 people per square kilometre. Since independence Bangladesh has reduced its total fertility rate (TFR) to 2.01, which means that women have 2.01 children on average. At this TFR and without migration a country's population is neither growing nor shrinking. Bangladesh family planning programs have been described as being weakened in recent years.

History

In 1950 family planning was introduced by medical volunteers and social workers. In 1965 the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

started a family planning program in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

. In 1976 the government of Bangladesh declared rapid population growth rate as the nation's number one problem.

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

has experienced rapid population growth since its independence. This was a result of high fertility rate, increased life expectancy, and decreasing mortality rate. In 1975 the total fertility rate was 6.3, which by 2011 was reduced to 2.3 according to the data collected by the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey 2011. The survey found most women have two or more children. It also found that the majority of women in Bangladesh would prefer to have two or less Children. Since 2011 the total fertility rate has remained at 2.3, according to the International Conference on Family Planning, family planning in Bangladesh has not made progress since then. Infant mortality fell from 160,300 in 2000 to 83,100 by 2015 according to ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles ...

''. Bangladesh is ranked 7 worldwide in number of

stillbirths Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...

. Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey 2014 found that 33% of 15 to 19 year olds were pregnant. Sixty-six percent of the population give birth before age 19. Family Service is supported by

UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies a ...

in Bangladesh.

Underage marriage

According to official government estimates in Bangladesh 65% of girls are married off before their 18th birthday. 60 percent of child brides have children by the time they are 19 and 10 percent of them have children by the time they are 15. Bangladesh's Penal Code places the age of consent at 14, through sex before marriage is frowned upon socially. According to the Child Marriage Restraint Act-2017, a child marriage would be legal in Bangladesh, if it was for the interest of the underage girl and with the consent of the parents.

Fertility

The

total fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if: # she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime # she were t ...

was 2.3 children per woman in 2019. The median age at first birth among women of child-bearing age is 18.6 years. 43% of women gave birth before turning 18. The fertility rate has an inverse relationship with the level of education. Women with no education or an incomplete

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

have an average of 2.6 children, on the contrary women with a secondary education or higher have an average of 2.2 children. In Bangladesh, the median age at first birth among women age 20-49 is 18.6 years. 28% of women age 15-19 have begun

childbearing Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but can ...

. Childbearing is less common among urban teenagers than among rural

teenagers Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the t ...

(23% versus 29%).

Contraceptives

The contraceptive

prevalence In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...

rate is 62% among currently married women aged 15-49. Among them, 52% of women use modern contraceptive methods, and 10% use traditional methods. Oral pill is the most commonly used method (25%). 12% of currently married women in Bangladesh have an unmet need for family planning. Use of modern contraceptives is highest in Rangpur division (59%) and lowest in

Chattogram Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

and

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate ...

divisions (45% each). contraceptive usage is higher among urban couples than among rural couples (65% versus 60%). Half (49%) of modern contraceptive users obtained their method from a private sector like pharmacies, 44% from the public sector, 5% from a nongovernmental organization (NGO), and 1% from another source.

Family planning services

86% of health facilities provided modern family planning services in 2017. But 31% of district hospitals and 75% of private facilities still do not provide family planning methods. Only 1/4th of the facilities provide long-acting reversible contraceptives or permanent methods (LARC/PMs), and even less provide male or female

sterilization Sterilization may refer to: * Sterilization (microbiology), killing or inactivation of micro-organisms * Soil steam sterilization, a farming technique that sterilizes soil with steam in open fields or greenhouses * Sterilization (medicine) rende ...

. Combined or progestin-only oral pills and male condoms (85% each) are the most commonly provided temporary modern methods. More than 60% of facilities provide progestin-only injectables. One-fourth of all facilities provide IUCDs, and a small proportion (6%) offer one or two-rod implants.

References

{{Reflist, 2

Healthcare in Bangladesh Women's rights in Bangladesh