The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) identifies family planning as a human right1 and further states that family planning can be central to gender equality and women’s empowerment.1 The goal of family planning, according to Healthy People 2020, is to improve pregnancy planning and spacing, and prevent unintended pregnancy. In the United States, family planning services consists of providing services beyond birth control measures such as breast and pelvic examinations, cervical cancer screening, education and counseling on Sexually transmitted infection (STI) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and counseling on pregnancy.2 At the same time there are other parts of the world where family planning relates to child and maternal health, child survival and socio-economic development of life. Nepal is one such country where family planning services are provided in order to protect the lives of mother and children.

More than 40% of the currently pregnant women surveyed in Nepal in 2012 reported that their current pregnancy was unintended.3 While unintended pregnancy can happen due to rape, many are often just a result of failure to use contraceptive use. An unintended pregnancy is a pregnancy that is either mistimed (i.e., they occurred earlier than desired) or unwanted (i.e. they occurred when no children, or no more children were desired) at the time of conception.3 It has been estimated that over 100 million acts of sexual intercourse take place each day resulting in around 1 million conceptions, about 50 percent of which are unplanned and about 25 percent are definitely unwanted.3. Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 49% of all pregnancies in the United States and 35% in Nepal are unintended.3 Unintended pregnancies can result in many health complications. Between 1996 and 2006 Nepal made remarkable progress in the use of modern contraceptives methods and even received international awards for improving its maternal and child health status through family planning programs.4 However, still only 50% currently use contraceptive methods for family planning.