Community education through new community practices.

The old customs to India which worked against high fertility e.g. prohibition against widow remarriage are passing away. New practices which will also limit fertility must be initiated. 1 such new practice would be through personal contact of the family planning worker to have couples sign a pledge not to produce another child during a specific period of time. Additional new practices to spread the idea of a spaced and small family are: 1) the institution of Spaced-Baby Shows which stress the idea of infant health; 2) the establishment of family planning fairs; 3) the holding of seminars for motivational purposes; and 4) the recognition and giving of incentives for practitioners of family planning and for those couples who have small families. An experimental project of family planning pledges was conducted in Ahmedabad City. Results from the project and lessons learned are cited.