Final answer:
The availability of birth control affects birth and fertility rates by enabling family planning. This contributes to a decrease in unplanned pregnancies and allows for spacing children, impacting overall population growth and individual family wellbeing.
Step-by-step explanation:
Availability of birth control significantly affects birth and fertility rates globally. By providing methods to prevent pregnancy, family planning allows individuals and couples to have more control over the timing and number of children they have. This usually results in fewer unplanned pregnancies, which contributes to lower fertility rates. Various contraception methods have different effectiveness levels portrayed by failure rates that suggest how likely a person is to become pregnant while using that method. While methods can be highly effective with perfect use, typical use often has higher failure rates due to human error or inconsistent usage.
Countries with the highest fertility rates often struggle with absorbing and attending to the needs of a growing population which puts stress on resources. On an individual level, the use of birth control supports the health and development of children, and the wellbeing of the mother by providing a means to space pregnancies. Societal factors such as poverty, education, gender equality, and climate change impact decisions on family size and use of birth control
Historically, medical advances like the introduction of the birth control pill have greatly influenced women's liberation, allowing them to delay pregnancy, work, and pursue education. This cultural shift has had a broad impact on societal structures, including a significant reduction in birth rates as women have more opportunities outside of childbearing.