A Reproductive health communication model that helps improve young women's reproductive life and reduce population growth: The case of PRACHAR from Bihar, India

PRACHAR, a reproductive health communication model developed and tested in rural Bihar, India, has been found to be successful in (a) delaying age at marriage and onset of childbearing, (b) increasing contraceptive use for spacing of pregnancies, and (c) generating the most positive impact on contraceptive use among the socioeconomically least advantaged. This paper presents the results of an exercise that estimates the impact of implementing the PRACHAR model in the reproductive health and family planning programs in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It shows that implementing PRACHAR in just these two states could result in the national population growing by 64 million fewer people.