Family planning hotline
Dabbs, K.
Family Planning Perspectives 2(1): 13-14
1970
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-7354 PMID: 5520496 DOI: 10.2307/2133910Document Number: 563552
Since last March, a family planning hotline has been putting the caller in touch with the Family Planning Information Service. This is possibly the 1st centralized referral and information service for family planning in any major city in the U.S. Each months this fall 1400 New Yorkers called the hotline number to obtain information about family planning, infertility, abortion, and voluntary sterilization. Several major parallel developments made the creation of the Family Planning Information Service possible and strengthened its changes of success. The service is headed by a registered nurse who is assisted by 2 specially trained nonprofessional staff members. The unit is housed in Planned Parenthood's Manhattan headquarters. The Service has a special telephone number which is listed in all telephone directories. A number of promotional devices have been used to build and maintain the volume of inquiries. The results of the intensive work to develop and maintain the service have been dramatic. From a monthly volume of 300 calls in March, the figure in May had reached 670. In July there were 962 inquiries and in October the figure rose to 1421. About 90% of these calls are from women. By far the largest number of requests for information have concerned contraception and where such services can be obtained. Over 200 calls have been inquires about infertility problems, and 361 calls have concerned abortion. More than 100 calls have been about sterilization, with men outnumbering women 2:1.