I readily support that each individual should develop a Reproductive Life Plan (RLP). The plan helps people to make reproduction choices based on their own goals, values and resources (cdc.gov). The role of the registered nurse in helping individuals develop a Reproductive Life Plan (RLP) is mostly to initiate the process with those people who are unfamiliar with it (Barry, 68). Nurses encourage and show people how to develop the RLP because it is the start of an educational and ongoing topic. Prior to developing the plan, nurses ought to assess a person’s health status and literacy (Barry, 68). Among other things nurses guide the individual to respond to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) questionnaire on RLP (cdc.gov).
The best time for a nurse to initiate the development of a RLP is during administration of care. People in a sexual relationship should develop RLPs at the early stages of their relationship. They should also communicate with each other on their reproductive plans.
Personal goals and considerations affect a person’s reproductive plan by aiding them to plan for the future in regard to what they want to achieve before they have children. An RLP also helps one understand the following issues better; financial standpoint, age and/or health status, education regarding contraception and the roles they of their sexual partners ought to play when planning to have or when raising children (Ward & Hisley, 48).
The family structure shapes the opinions of individuals when considering a RLP. The presence of one’s parents, siblings and other close family members may encourage a person to have more children as opposed to the absence of such family members (Ward & Hisley, 52). The person developing the RLP feels a sense of security for the children they plan to have when s/he has several close family members.
There are several legal and/ethical implications of a RLP. For those people who consider life to begin at conception, abortion issues when one has conceived accidentally may present complicated legal and ethical implications. The reproduction techniques to be adopted such as vitro-fertilization, genetic manipulations, contraception methods and the involvement of a third party in say surrogate motherhood may also present ethical and legal issues.
Works Cited
Barry, Martha. Preconception care at the edges of the reproductive lifespan. Nursing for Women’s Health, 15 (1), 68-74. 2011. Print
How to make a Reproductive Life Plan. Web 22 October 2012, http://www.cdc.gov/preconception/documents/reproductivelifeplan-worksheet.pdf
Ward, Susan & Hisley, Shelton. The Evolving Family. In Maternal-Child Nursing Care: Optimizing Outcomes for Mothers, Children, & Families (Enhanced Revised Reprint) (pp. 46-56). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis. 2009. Print
