Reproductive Health Revision Notes

Class 12 Notes

Please refer to the Reproductive Health Revision Notes given below. These revision notes have been designed as per the latest NCERT, CBSE and KVS books issued for the current academic year. Students will be able to understand the entire chapter in your class 12th Biology book. We have provided chapter wise Notes for Class 12 Biology as per the latest examination pattern.

Revision Notes Chapter 4 Reproductive Health

Students of Class 12 Biology will be able to revise the entire chapter and also learn all important concepts based on the topic wise notes given below. Our best teachers for Grade 12 have prepared these to help you get better marks in upcoming examinations. These revision notes cover all important topics given in this chapter.

  • According to World Health Organisation (WHO) reproductive health means a total well being in physical, mental, emotional, behavioural and social aspects of reproduction. A  reproductively healthy person is one who has physically and functionally normal reproductive organs and normal behavioural and emotional interactions with other persons in all sex related aspects.
  • Government of India initiated number of programmes at national level to attain total reproductive health as a social goal. Family planning was one such programme initiated in 1951. These are popularly termed as Reproductive and Child Health Care (RCH) programmes. Sex-education in schools and governmental and non-governmental agencies too help in creating awareness about reproduction related aspects.
  • The main aim of such programmes is to create awareness among people about reproductive organs, adolescence and associated changes, safe and hygienic sexual practices, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), social evils like sex-abuse and sex related crimes etc, and providing facilities and support for building up of reproductively healthy society.
  • Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services and family planning are the important programmes of health care centres under which people are educated about available birth control options, care of pregnant mothers, post-natal care of the mother and the child, importance of breast feeding, equal opportunities for the male and the female child

BIRTH CONTROL

  • At present, human population is increasing at a rate of over two persons every second or about 2,00,000 people everyday. Such a rapid or exponential increase in population is termed population explosion. Reasons for this are –rapid decline in maternal and infant mortality rates, increased health facilities, early marriage, lack of social awareness, etc. Reduction in birth rate is the only practicable and direct method to control world’s population.
  • The regulation of conception by preventive methods or devices to limit the number of offspring is called birth control or contraception.
  • The various birth control methods are temporary methods, permanent methods and medical termination of pregnancy.

Temporary methods

  • Temporary methods prevent conception only for a limited period. These include natural methods, barrier methods, IUDs, oral contraceptives, subcutaneous implants and hormonal injections. 
Reproductive Health Revision Notes
Reproductive Health Revision Notes
  • Oral contraceptives are physiological contraceptives used in the form of pills and taken by women to prevent conception.
  • These are of two types : combined pills and mini pills. Combined pills are most commonly used contraceptive pills which contain synthetic progesterone and estrogen to check ovulation. Mini pills contain progestin (progesterone like synthetic hormone) only.
  • Hormonal pills act in four ways. 
Reproductive Health Revision Notes
  • Pills Mala D and Mala N are commonly used combined contraceptive pills. These are taken daily without break.
  • Oral contraceptive pill, Saheli contains a nonsteroidal preparation called centchroman which is taken once a week after an initial intake of twice a week dose for three months.
  • The most common form of emergency contraceptive is a kit consisting of high dose of birth control pills. These kits can prevent pregnancy within 72 hours aer unprotected sexual intercourse.
  • Other contraceptives include hormonal implants and hormone injections (Depo Provera), etc.

Permanent methods

  • These methods block gamete transport and hence prevent fertilisation.
Reproductive Health Revision Notes
  • Both vasectomy and tubectomy are very effective methods but reversibility is very poor. 

Medical termination of pregnancy (MTP)
Intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before the foetus becomes viable is called medical termination of pregnancy or induced abortion. MTP is done to get rid of unwanted pregnancies due to rapes, casual unprotected intercourse, failure of contraceptive during coitus, conditions where pregnancy is complicated and can be fatal.

Some common STDs, with their causal organism, symptoms and transmission   

Name of STDCausal
organism
TransmissionSymptoms
SyphilisBacterium- Treponema
pallidum
Transmitted through
sexual contact and
from mother to
children.
Painless ulcer or chancre on the genitals,
swelling of local lymph glands, skin lesions,
hair loss, swollen joints etc.
GonorrhoeaBacterium- Neisseria
gonorrhoeae
Spread through sexual
contact, common
toilets and under
clothes.
Bacterium lives in genital tubes, produces pus
containing discharge, pain around genitalia
and burning sensation during urination.
AIDSHuman Immunode
ciency Virus (HIV)
Transmitted via semen
and blood.
Fever, lethargy, pharyngitis, weight loss,
nausea, headache.
Hepatitis BHepatitis B Virus (HBV)Blood transfusion,
sexual contact, saliva,
tears, intravenous
drug abuse, tattooing,
ear and nose piercing,
sharing of razors etc.
Fever, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort,
nausea fatigue followed by jaundice.
Genital herpesHerpes simplex virusPrimarily transmitted
through genital
secretions but also by
contact with genitalia.
Vesiculopustular lesions followed by clusters
of painful erythematous ulcers over external
genitalia and perianal regions, vaginal and
urethral discharge and swelling of lymph
nodes.
Genital wartsHuman papilloma virus
Spreads through
sexual intercourse with
carriers of the virus of
this disease.
Benign, hard outgrowths with horny surface
(warts) over the skin and mucosal surface of
external genitalia and perianal area.
ChlamydiasisChlamydia trachomatisSpread by sexual
contact with infected
mating partner.
It causes urethritis, epididymitis, inammation
of Fallopian tubes, proctitis etc.
TrichomoniasisTrichomonas vaginalisTransmitted through
sexual intercourse.
The parasite affects both males and females. In
females, it causes vaginitis with foul smelling,
yellow vaginal discharge and burning sensation.
In males, it causes urethritis, epididymitis
and prostatitis resulting in pain and burning
sensation.
CandidiasisCandida albicans
(vaginal yeast)
Sexual contactWomen with yeast infection, experience
painful inammation of the vagina oen with
a thick, cheesy discharge. Man may develop a
painful inammation of the urethra through
sexual contact with an infected woman.
  • MTP is comparatively safe upto 12 weeks of pregnancy. Government of India legalised MTP in 1971. At present MTP is legally allowed upto 28th week of pregnancy if the family physician and the gynaecologist considers the need for abortion. It also plays a signicant role in decreasing the human population.
  • There are also some drawbacks of MTP. It is being misused to abort the normal female foetuses and has raised many emotional, ethical and social issues too.

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES (STDS)
Diseases or infections which are transmitted through sexual intercourse with infected persons are collectively called sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or venereal diseases (VD) or reproductive tract infections (RTI).

INFERTILITY

  • Inability to conceive or produce children inspite of unprotected sexual intercourse is called infertility.
  • It is caused by various reasons which can be grouped under physical, congenital, immunological or even psychological disorders. Specialised infertility clinics can help in the diagnosis and proper treatment of some of these disorders and enable these couples to have children. However, where such diagnosis and treatment are not possible, the couples can be assisted to have children through certain special techniques called Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Some important techniques of ART are depicted below : 
Reproductive Health Revision Notes

DETECTION OF FOETAL DISORDERS

  • Foetal disorders during early pregnancy can be detected by amniocentesis, chorionic villi sampling (CVS), non-invasive techniques and foetoscopy.
  • Transabdominal aspiration of fluid from the amniotic sac of the foetus is called amniocentesis. It is a foetal sex determination and disorder test based on the chromosomal pattern in the amniotic fluid surrounding the developing embryo.
  • Unfortunately, this useful technique, is being misused to kill the normal female foetuses. Therefore, it is legally banned.
  • In Chorionic Villi Sampling (CVS) technique the physician inserts a narrow, flexible tube through the mother’s vagina and cervix into the uterus and withdraws a small amount of foetal tissue (chorionic villi) from the placenta.
  • The rapidly dividing chorionic villi cells can be used for karyotyping along with some biochemical tests.
  • One of the widely used non-invasive technique  to determine foetal condition is ultrasound imaging.
  • Foetoscopy is a technique in which a needle thin tube containing a viewing scope is inserted into the uterus, giving the physician a direct view of the foetus.
Reproductive Health Revision Notes