Notes on NCERT for Class 12 Biology Chapter 3 Reproductive Health

Notes on NCERT for Class 12 Biology Chapter 3 Reproductive Health: Reproductive health simply means people in a society living with physically and functionally normal reproductive organs and normal behavioral and emotional responses toward sex-related matters. According to WHO “reproductive health means a total well-being in all aspects of reproduction, i.e., physical, emotional, behavioral and social”.

NCERT Biology Notes for Class 12 Chapter 3 Reproductive Health: Biology Reproductive health means the overall well-being and functioning of the reproductive system, also the ability to reproduce, and have a satisfying and safe sexual life. It encompasses a wide range of physical, emotional, and social aspects that are essential for individuals to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.

Reproductive Health: Problems and Strategies

India is one the first nation that initiated reproductive health programs like a family planning program in 1951 which is currently called ‘Reproductive & Child Health Care (RCH) programs’ (1997).

There are multiple prevailing problems in our society related to reproductive health, some of these are;

1. Myths and misconceptions regarding reproduction.
2. Sex-related crimes
3. Mother’s and child’s health
4. Infertility related issues
5. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
6. Overpopulation
7. Child marriages
8. Female foeticides

The strategies to combat the above-mentioned issues under the RCH program;

1. Introduction of sex education.
2. Creating awareness by using all forms of media.
3. Medical aids to menstruating females, pregnant mothers, etc.
4. Educate the care of the pregnant mother, post-natal care of mother and child, and the importance of breastfeeding.
5. Education and laws to prevent sex-related crimes.
6. Medical assistance to treat and alternate options for infertile couples.
7. Medical help to cure STDs.
8. Introduction of family planning programs to control overpopulation.
9. Availability of various birth control measures to control pregnancies.
10. Ban on amniocentesis and stringent laws to prevent female foeticides.

Population Explosion & Birth Control

Population explosion is the rapid increase in population in a very short amount of time. The world population was around 2 billion in 1900 which rocketed to about 6 billion by 2000, just in 100 years it increased three times. Then by the year 2011, it increased to 7.2 billion. In India, the population was around 350 million at the time of independence which increased to 1 billion in 2000 and 1.2 billion around 2011. According to the 2001 census report, the population growth rate was still around 1.7 percent, i.e., 17/1000/year, a rate at which our population could double in 33 years.

The reasons behind the population explosion are;

1. Increase in health facilities and better living conditions.
2. A rapid decline in mortality rates, maternal mortality rate (MMR), and infant mortality rate (IMR).
3. Increase in the number of people in reproducible age.
4. Medical assistance to infertile couples.

To control the population following measures can be taken;

1. Motivate to form smaller families by using contraceptives, giving incentives, etc.
2. Create awareness about the slogan “Hum Do Hamare Do” policy and its importance.
3. Encourage couples to adopt the ‘one child norm’.
4. Statutory rising of marriageable age of the female to 18 years and males to 21 years.

Contraceptive Methods

Following are the different contraceptive methods are:

Temporary Methods

These are the methods that help in postponing the pregnancy till they are used regularly.

A. Natural methods: Methods that work by ensuring sperm does not meet the ovum by natural means i.e. without using any external substance.

1. Periodic abstinence: It is also called the Rhythm method. In this method, the male and female avoid coitus from day 10 to day 17 of the menstrual cycle as this period is considered as the fertile period where the chances of ovulation are high.
2. Coitus interruptus: It is also called the withdrawal method. In this method, the male withdraws his penis from the female’s vagina just before ejaculation to prevent insemination.
3. Lactational amenorrhea: During 6 month lactation period after birth prolactin levels are high in a female which prevents ovulation no conception during this period occurs.

B. Barrier methods: Methods in which an external barrier is used to prevent the meeting of sperm with the ovum.

1. Condoms: It is a rubber or latex-based cover for the penis during coitus that blocks the entry of sperm into the female’s reproductive tract. Nirodh is a popular brand of condom in India.
2. Femidoms: It is the female alternative to a condom made of rubber or latex that covers the vagina and cervix in females.
3. Diaphragms, cervical caps, and vaults: Cover the female’s cervix to prevent the entry of sperm. Made of rubber and reusable.

C. Chemical methods: Usually spermicidal chemical substances are used along with or without barriers like diaphragms, cervical caps, and vaults. They can be only used if the user is non-allergic to the substance.

1. Spermicidal creams, jellies, and foams: Used along with reusable barriers to increase their contraceptive capability. Consists of spermicides like lactic acid, citric acid, potassium permanganate, etc.
2. Sponge: Foam suppository or tablets that contain spermicide like nonoxynol inserted in the reproductive tract of the female.

D. Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Devices (IUCDs): These are plastic or metal objects that make the uterus unsuitable for implantation or the cervix hostile to the sperm. They need to be inserted into the female’s genital tract by an expert medical practitioner.

1. Non-medicated IUCDs: S-shaped plastic wire that increases phagocytosis of sperms by immune cells. E.g. Lippes’ loop.
2. Hormone-releasing IUCDs: Contains hormones that alter the hormonal balance of the female’s body making the uterus unsuitable for implantation and the uterus hostile for sperms. E.g. Progestasert, LNG-20.
3. Copper-releasing IUCDs: These IUCDs release Cu ions that suppress sperm motility and fertilization capacity. E.g. CuT, Cu7, Multiload 375, etc.

E. Oral contraceptive pills: These are made of small doses of either progestogens or progestogen–estrogen combinations. They are used in the form of tablets and hence are popularly called pills.

1. Combined pills: Consists of synthetic progesterone and estrogen that prevents ovulation. These pills are to be taken daily for 21 days starting preferably from the first 5 days of the menstrual cycle and then after a gap of 7 days, the same patterns are to be repeated till the desired period. E.g. Mala D and Mala N.
2. Mini pills: These are mainly non-steroidal pills that contain progestin only and are to be taken once a week. E.g. Saheli which is developed by scientists at Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) in Lucknow.

F. Hormonal injections and subcutaneous implants: These are either injection or implants under the skin that contains either progestogens or a progestogen-estrogen combination. Their mode of action is similar to that of pills and their effective periods are much longer.

Permanent Methods

The surgical or sterilization methods are considered terminal methods to prevent any further pregnancy by blocking the pathway of the gamete. These methods are performed only by specialized surgeons and can show side effects like; nausea, abdominal pain, breakthrough bleeding, irregular menstrual bleeding, breast cancer, etc. There are two methods;

1. Vasectomy: The surgical method in which a small section of a male’s vas-deference is cut and tied to block the pathway of sperm.
2. Tubectomy: The surgical method in which a small section of a female’s fallopian tube is cut and tied to prevent the movement of the egg.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP)

The voluntary termination of pregnancy before its full term is called MTP or induced abortion. In a year almost 45 to 50 million MTPs are performed worldwide which is almost around 1/5^th of total pregnancies in a year worldwide.  In India, MTP was legalized in the year 1971 with strict rules to avoid misuse. The process is considered relatively safe during the first trimester, i.e., up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Second-trimester abortions are much more risky.

1. MTP is beneficial in conditions like;
2. To avoid unwanted pregnancy due to rapes, casual relationships, unprotected sex, etc.
3. When continuous pregnancy could be harmful or even fatal to either the mother or the fetus or both.
4. It helps to decrease the population.

There are certain issues with MTP, these are;

1. The majority of the MTPs are performed illegally by non-professional quacks making it risky.
2. Misuse causing female foeticide.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

These are the diseases that are transmitted through sexual intercourse. These diseases are also called venereal diseases (VD), or, reproductive tract infections (RTI). Hepatitis-B & HIV are also transmitted by sharing of injection needles, and surgical instruments t, during the transfusion of blood and from the infected mother to the fetus.  Some of the common STDs are;

For more information read: Sexually Transmitted Disease

STD	Pathogen	Symptoms and Consequences
Gonorrhoea	Neisseria gonorrhea	Pain during urination in males, sterility, and pelvic inflammatory disease in females.
Syphilis	Treponema pallidum	Initially, sores of the mouth and genitalia, followed by infection in the heart, and brain causing paralysis and mental retardation. Also includes miscarriages, premature birth, birth defects, stillbirth, etc.
Chlamydia	Chlamydia trachomatis	Painful urination & intercourse, mucus discharge from penis or vagina. If remains untreated, then may transform into a pelvic inflammatory disease causing sterility, ectopic pregnancy
Genital warts	Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)	Fever and warts on genitalia.
Trichomoniasis	Trichomonas vaginalis	In females inflammation, itching, and whitish vaginal discharge. Whereas males are usually asymptomatic but occasionally cause swelling of seminal vesicles and prostates.
Genital herpes	Herpes simplex virus	Painful urination, fever, and risk of cervical cancer.
Hepatitis-B	Hepatitis-B virus	Fatigue, abdominal pain, arthritis, jaundice.
AIDS	HIV	Fever, weakness, infections, cancer, dementia, and ultimately death

 Prevention of STDs can be achieved by;

1. Always avoid sex with unknown or multiple partners.
2. Always use condoms during coitus.
3. In case of doubt, one should go to a qualified doctor for early detection and get complete treatment.

Infertility

The lack of ability to produce children after unprotected sexual contact for at least two years of sexual cohabitation is called infertility. The reason behind this can be physical, congenital, diseases, drugs, immunological or psychological. Specialized healthcare units called infertility clinics could help in the diagnosis and corrective treatment of some of these disorders and if that’s not possible then with the help of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) they can have children.

• 1. Test tube baby program: It is the process of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) where the male and female’s gametes are fertilized outside the body in a laboratory setup to form an embryo. Then embryo transfer (ET) is done in the uterus of the parental female or another surrogate female either in two ways;
  • Zygote Intra Fallopian Transfer (ZIFT): Where the embryo of 8 blastomeres stage is transferred inside the fallopian tube.
  •  Intra Uterine Transfer (IUT): When the embryo of more than 8 blastomeres stage is transferred inside the uterus.
• 2. Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT): In this method, an ovum taken from a donor female is transferred to the fallopian tube of another recipient woman who is incapable of producing a functional gamete but can provide a suitable environment for fertilization and further development.
• 3. Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI): In this method, the sperm is directly injected into the cytoplasm of the ovum for successful fertilization. Then the embryo is transferred to the female either by ZIFT or IUT.
• 4. Artificial Insemination (AI): In this method sperm collected from a husband (having low sperm count) or a healthy donor is injected into the uterus (Intra Uterine Insemination IUI) or the vagina of the female.

FAQs on Reproductive Health

Q1: What do You Understand by the Term Amniocentesis?

Answer:

Amniocentesis is the prenatal fetal test based on the chromosomal pattern in the amniotic fluid surrounding the developing embryo. It can be used for screening various genetic diseases that come from parents and also to determine the sex of the unborn child.

Q2: What are the Consequences of Overpopulation?

Answer:

The consequences of overpopulation are;

1. Insufficiency of basic requirements like food, shelter, clothing, medical facilities, etc.
2. Unemployment, Lack of educational facilities.
3. Environmental pollution, energy crisis, loss of other species, etc.
4. Diseases and disorders due to poverty & malnutrition etc.

Q3: What are the Characteristics of an Ideal Contraceptive?

Ans.

The characteristics of an ideal contraceptive are;

1. It must be user-friendly i.e. can be used without any medical help.
2. It must be easily available even without any medical prescription.
3. It should be effective and reversible with no or least side effects.
4. It should be non-interfering with the sexual drive or desire or the sexual act of the user.

Q4: Why are Condoms a Popular Option for Contraception?

Answer:

Condoms are popular because it protects from the transmission of STDs, are disposable, can be brought easily, and can be self-inserted which maintains the privacy of the user.