[Changes in various indexes of maternal health observed after a program of family planning]. / Cambios en algunos índices de salud materna observados después de un programa de planificación familiar.

PIP: In 1965 the National Health Service (SNS) in Chile began a family planning program with the object of reducing abortions to a minimum, reducing the number of births to multiparous women, and reducing infant mortality rates. A community that had a fairly constant population and an SNS clinic located within easy access of the populous was carefully selected to make a preliminary test of the effectiveness of the program. On the theory that education and services needed to be provided in equal measure if the program were to succeed, efforts were made to educate (mostly through talks) previous abortion seekers, as they stood a 2-5 times greater chance of having a subsequent abortion than did others.In the talks, special emphasis was placed on risks involved in induced abortion. The women were also instructed in the use of all sorts of contraceptives and costs were made as low as possible. A survey of fertility and abortion was taken prior to the initiation of the program in 1965 and was repeated in 1967. Age-specific abortion rates had dropped for all but the 15-19 group, but the only statistically significant drops occurred in the 20-24, 25-29, and 30-34 age groups. General and total abortion rates dropped by 38.1 and 39.4% respectively, both of which were highly significant. Fertility rates also dropped;the TFR was down by 20% and age-specific rates were down for all groups, though only the drops in the 30-34 and 35-39 groups were statistically significant. Fertility was, however, still high (TFR - 5.2), and infant mortality remained almost stable. The proportion of grand multiparous women was reduced from 30% to 17.5%.^ieng