Résumé : The term fertility control, with its connotation of demographic policy to limit the number of births in a country, has been replaced practically everywhere by the term responsible parenthood. Irresponsible parenthood might be defined as bringing into the world a child who is unwanted. The irresponsibility does not stem from the wealth or poverty, number of children, marital status, or other condition of the parents, but from not preventing the unwanted pregnancy. In a recent study of 2500 pregnant women attending a prenatal clinic, 22% stated that the pregnancy was a disaster for them, 33% were happy about it, and 44% stated they would have preferred to wait. 19% of births in Ecuador are to women under 20, and 58% of such births are extramarital. The number of abortions is unknown, but estimates from different sources suggest that one abortion occurs for each two births, or around 135,000 abortions per year. It may be estimated that each year, of the 270,000 births, 60,000 are unwanted, 120,000 are inopportunely timed, and 51,300 are to adolescent parents. The reasons for the large number of unwanted or badly timed births are undoubtedly complex. A form of sex education is needed that will promote development of sexual responsibility and not just transfer technical information. The program should stress the importance of the couple in procreation.
Notes : Español/espagnol/Spanish, nbsp;Abstract : Popline (http://db.jhuccp.org/popinform/basic.html) - PIP 102146