Sexual and reproductive health@GynecologyCongress2019

Sexual and reproductive health

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a very personal subject, so people may have trouble finding or asking for accurate information about it. This may also help explain why these issues are still not addressed openly, and services are inadequate, fragmented and unfriendly in some countries in the European Region. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth, unsafe abortions, reproductive tract infections, sexual violence and women dying from avoidable cancer are just a few of the problems in this area. WHO/Europe assists countries to evaluate their situations and to choose the optimal way to improve them.

People are sexual beings in all their lives. The purposes of sexual health care should be the enhancement of life and personal relationships, and not merely counseling and care related to procreation or sexually transmitted infections. Reproductive health (RH) implies that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to have children and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.

Men and women should have access to the safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of fertility regulation of their choice, and to appropriate health care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth, and provide couples with the best chance of having healthy infants.