Why is family planning important?

Knowing whether you do or don't want to have children in the next few years can help you and your partner prepare for conception or choose appropriate contraception.

If you're already parents, family planning takes on new meaning. Having another child will change your family's lives. Are you and your partner ready to take care of a newborn again? How will your other child or children react to sharing your attention with a new baby?

The timing of your pregnancies is important, too. While you and your partner might have preferences about how close in age you'd like your children to be, some research shows that how you space your pregnancies can affect mother and baby.