Family Planning
Unexpectedly bringing a new child into the family presents serious challenges for low-income couples trying to attain family stability. Most relationship education programs do not include family planning information even though it is an important topic to address. Family planning is included as an extended activity for couples in the Family Expectations program to help supplement the relationship education they already receive. The purpose of the family planning workshop is to promote the importance of timing pregnancies to reach goals and achieve stability, and to enable couples to get on the same page about whether, or when, to have another child. This extended activity focuses on “keeping it real” and has couples think about the following questions:
- Where do you stand on having another child with your partner?
- Are you and your partner on the same page about this?
- What would you need to have in place to feel comfortable having another child together?
Family Support Coordinators work with couples to help them think through these questions and determine their family vision. Each couple then establishes goals and action steps for spacing and timing of any future pregnancies.