Family Planning and Reproductive Health
See latest on research results from study on use of Standard Days Method® for Family Planning
C-Change is working to strengthen the capacity of governments and local organizations to carry out social and behavior change communication (SBCC) programs and activities that increase awareness and use of modern family planning (FP) and improve reproductive health (RH). C- Change also develops materials and messages for radio, television, billboards, brochures, edutainment, and text messaging.
What we do is informed by our research, including on factors that influence access to and use of modern contraceptive methods--gender norms, social norms, and misconceptions about the side effects of modern contraceptives.
Guidelines on Family Planning Communication for Kenya and Malawi
C-Change provided expert technical assistance to two governments—Kenya and Malawi—to develop guidance on communicating on family planning programs. Collaborating with Kenya’s Division of Reproductive Health and other stakeholders and partners, C-Change played a major role in developing the Reproductive Health Communication Strategy Implementation Guide. It supports the rollout of Kenya’s National Reproductive Health (RH) Communication Strategy and aims to ensure coordinated social and behavior change communication (SBCC) in RH programming at district, regional, and national levels.
C-Change provided considerable support for the Government of Malawi’s Guidelines for Family Planning Communication. The publication provides the framework for family planning communication programs and supports the National Reproductive Health Strategy, which promotes safer reproductive health practices, informed choice, and increased use of high quality, accessible, reproductive health services.
Country program examples
Albania: After investigating factors that influence contraceptive choice in Albania, C-Change has been working to change social norms related to FP/RH, combat prevalent misperceptions, and increase use of modern methods, including by working closely with pharmacists, university students, and journalists. We developed a comprehensive media campaign and trained journalists to be FP “champions” who incorporate RH messages into their stories.
Benin: C-Change worked with Georgetown University's Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) on an intervention to build awareness and encourage use of a paper version of Standard Days Method® (SDM). SDM is an approach to family planning that helps women to identify the “fertile window” during their menstrual cycles when they are most likely to become pregnant. CycleBeads®, a string of colored beads developed by IRH, is a visual tool to assist women using SDM to keep track of their fertile periods. Together they conducted a study of the intervention; results in English and French indicated that the paper version was well accepted by potential users and healthcare providers. Findings also showed that this direct-to-consumre approach was effective: providers received more enquiries about modern family planning methods including SDM®, and sales of CycleBeads increased during this period. Benin has a 30 percent rate of unmet need for family planning and a fertility rate of 4.9 chidren per womanin urban areas and 6.3 in rural areas.
DR Congo: C-Change is working with the government, stakeholders, and partners to reposition FP/RH policy and programming in the DRC. We have trained training community health volunteers (relais communautaire) to use the new Family Planning Dialogue Guide, available for download in English and French. The tool is used to guide conversations during home visits and group discussions on the benefits of modern contraceptives, birth spacing, and clinic-based FP counseling and antenatal care. C-Change also supports radio dramas on FP through community radio stations. 
Malawi: C-Change worked with the Health Education Unit of the Ministry of Health to craft an evidence-based planning process for FP communication strategies. C-Change also facilitated the setting up of a national task force on FP communication and led the development of national guidelines and a facilitator’s guide that was rolled out in 2011.
Kenya: C-Change assisted the Ministry of Health's Division of Reproductive Health and partners with the 2010-2011 “Plan for Yourself A Good Life” campaign, which promoted informed choice about modern contraceptives and child spacing. The campaign targeted peri-urban and rural men and women ages 25-35 in areas of the country where contraceptive prevalence is lowest. Read more
Tanzania: C-Change activities began with a 2009 study on the role of gender norms and female empowerment in FP decision-making among married couples. It underscored the need for messaging to address misinformation and fears about modern contraceptive methods and to engage both men and women in equitable decision-making. These findings inform radio messages that support community-based distribution of oral contraceptives and condoms in Mwanza and Dodoma districts, a program managed by T-MARC.
Zambia: In the Lundazi District, C-Change investigated how social norms influence FP uptake and the best ways to reach HIV-positive individuals with FP information. The initial step was to make contraceptive commodities available with TB and HIV services at clinic and community levels and train providers to deliver FP counseling and facilitate dialogues.
