This is a basic principle of family planning programs and providers. An informed choice is a client s thoughtful decision based on accurate understanding of the full range of options and their possible results. Counseling helps clients make their own informed choices. The choice belongs to the client. Reproductive health care providers give accurate, useful information and actively help clients apply this information to their own situations.
Clients are the experts on their own lives and can make the best decisions.
Providers do not pressure clients to choose a certain option or to use a certain family planning method. This chart shows how. The second column describes the provider's actions in general terms. The third and fourth columns give examples of some of what a provider and two specific clients might say. These examples show how counseling leads to the clients' informed choices.