Family Planning
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, through its Division of Women and Children’s Services (WCS), offers Family Planning services which represent major preventive strategies for reducing infant deaths and improving family health. Family Planning services are funded through Title X federal block grant dollars. These services are available in all 46 counties and 100 clinic sites and include:
- Counseling and education about planning and spacing pregnancies
- Counseling relative to risk-taking behaviors including risks for HIV/AIDS
- A comprehensive physical exam
- Pap smear (cervical cancer screening test)
- Screening and, if needed, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases
- Pregnancy testing
- Providing information about all methods of birth control, including abstinence
Any woman of childbearing age is eligible to receive Family Planning Services. These services are offered without regard to religion, race, color, national origin, creed, handicap, sex, number of pregnancies, marital status, age, or contraceptive preference.
Charges for services are based on a sliding scale; income and family size are taken into account in determining the financial burden of women desiring services.
The goal of Family Planning is to prevent unintended pregnancy and to reduce the cost of high risk pregnant women and sick or pre-term babies. Family Planning services link clients to primary care providers and to a wealth of available resources to help women plan for children who are wanted. Studies have demonstrated that at least two tax dollars are saved for every dollar spent on Family Planning. Women who have an unwanted pregnancy are less likely to seek prenatal care early or to make changes in their lives to improve the likelihood of having a healthy infant. Low income women and teenagers are even more likely to develop problems during pregnancy.
If you would like to know more about what to expect from parenthood and how to prepare yourself, take a look at Family Planning: For Fathers To Be or Family Planning: For Mothers To Be. You can also take a look at Teen Pregnancy to find out about some of the challenges that await young parents.