Women’s Health and Family Planning and Reproductive Health

Information presented below is for informative purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. Always contact your health care provider for medical advice.

The Alaska Division of Public Health promotes the health of Alaskans so that we are healthy and resilient today and tomorrow.

We want to make sure that Alaskan women have the health they want and that Alaskans of all ages can choose when and if they want to have children, and get access to the services they need to plan healthy pregnancies .

We do this through a combination of working with health care providers to support them in giving the best quality care to their patients as well as working directly with Alaskans to connect with services.

Some suggestions to help Alaskans stay healthy, this list is not comprehensive:

• Adults need at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, such as 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
• Eat nutritious foods.
• Visit a doctor for regular checkups and get preventive screenings. We can help pay for pap tests and mammograms through the Alaska Breast + Cervical Screening Assistance Program.
• Avoid risky behaviors like smoking and not wearing a seatbelt.
• Take care of your mental health, which includes getting adequate sleep and managing stress.
• Programs to help us get the health we want. We want to lose weight, move more, lower our blood sugar or blood pressure, or stop smoking or vaping. Alaska has free programs to help.

More Information on Services Available in Alaska

Alaska 2-1-1 is a resource for social and health services in the state of Alaska and can be dialed from anywhere in Alaska (just dial “211”). Calls are taken 8:30 – 5:00 M – F, but information also is available online 24 hours a day. Helpful keywords when using search function: social support and assistance programs, health, mental health, women’s health, birth control, and substance use.

Family Planning and Reproductive Health

Why is it important to plan your pregnancy?

If you make a plan for getting pregnant instead of letting it “just happen”, you can avoid using alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs that could harm your baby or yourself during your pregnancy. Also, you may want to achieve certain educational or work goals before having children. These could include graduating from high school or college. Or you may want to have a stable, well-paying job so that you can better support a family when or if you decide to have children.

What do family planning services and reproductive health services include?

Family Planning and reproductive health services can include the following:

• a wide range of current contraceptive methods, supplies, and techniques (such as natural family planning);

• Pregnancy testing and counseling including basic infertility services;

• counseling and referral for permanent sterilization services (vasectomy and tubal ligation);

• Counseling and screening for sexually-transmitted infections or HIV;

• screenings and exams for cancer or other diseases

In addition to the clinical services listed above, your health care provider also may offer resources and information about teens and adolescent health, including:

• counseling and education on the benefits of sexual abstinence and parents’ involvement in the family planning decisions of young adults, and education about healthy relationships;

• Sexually-transmitted infection/HIV prevention and risk reduction;
• and education, counseling, and referral for pregnancy options.

Where can you find family planning and reproductive health services in Alaska?

You can find low cost, confidential family planning services at the following locations that are supported by the State’s Division of Public Health:

• Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic in Homer

• Municipality of Anchorage Health Department

• State Public Health Centers; just call your local public health center to find out what family planning and reproductive health services they offer.

All of the health care providers listed above provide these services on a sliding discount schedule, based on your income and family size. No one is denied services based on inability to pay. These centers also accommodate people with special needs.

You also can contact your nearest State Public Health Center for questions about your personal family planning and reproductive health needs or immediate health care concerns. They may also help finding a health care provider in your area. State staff are available Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, (excluding holidays) and will reply to your message as soon as they can.

Women’s Health

The State's Division of Public Health promotes resources and initiatives designed to:

• reduce the incidence of preventable conditions among Alaskan women of all ages, including those with special needs and low incomes;

• improve access to high quality, evidence-based preventive health services; and

• encourage healthy lifestyles.

The Division of Public Health seeks to advance public policy as it affects women’s health by sharing

For more information, please contact:

Anne Remick
Adult Health Services Unit and Family Planning Program Manager
Division of Public Health
Section of Women's, Children's and Family Health
3601 C Street, Suite 322
Anchorage, AK 99503-5923
907-269-3461 or anne.remick@alaska.gov
907-269-3465 fax