VBQs Class 12 Biology Reproductive Health

Please refer to VBQs for Class 12 Biology Reproductive Health. All value based questions for Biology Class 12 have been provided with solutions. We have provided below important values questions and answers. Students should learn these solved VBQs for Class 12 Biology as these will help them to gain more marks and help improve understanding of important topics.

Reproductive Health VBQs Class 12 Biology with Answers

Reproductive Health-Problems and Strategies

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Why there is a statutory ban on amniocentesis?
Why is this technique so named?
Answer. There is a statutory ban on amniocentesis because it is being misused to kill unborn normal female foetuses. This technique is based on the principle that amniotic fluid contain cells from the skin of the foetus and other sources and therefore can be used to determine its sex, chromosomal abnormalities, etc. hence named amniocentesis.

Question. What is amniocentesis? How is it misused?
Answer.  Amniocentesis is a prenatal diagnostic technique used to determine sex and metabolic disorder of an unborn foetus. This technique is often misused to kill an unborn normal female foetus.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. If implementation of better techniques and new strategies are required to provide more edicient care and assistance to people, then why is there a statutory ban on amniocentesis? Write the use of this technique and give reason to justify the ban.
Answer. Better techniques and new strategies provide more effcient care and assistance to people but these are often misused by the people for their benefit. Best example of this is amniocentesis. Amniocentesis is a prenatal sex and disorder determining test which can be used to determine any chromosomal, biochemical and enzymatic abnormality in an unborn foetus. But, this technique is often misused to kill the normal unborn female foetus therefore it is banned. Yes, the ban is fully justified so as to prevent the growing number of female foeticides in the country.

Question. (a) Mention the problems that are taken care of by Reproduction and Child Health Care Programme.
(b) What is aminocentesis and why there is a statutory ban on it?
Answer.
(a) Reproduction and Child Health Care (RCH) programmes cover wide range of reproduction – related areas. Creating awareness among people about various reproduction related aspects and providing facilities and support for building up a reproductively healthy society are the major tasks under these programmes.
(b) Amniocentesis is a prenatal diagnostic technique used to determine sex and metabolic disorder of an unborn foetus. This technique is often misused to kill an unborn normal female foetus.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Reproductive and Child Health Care (RCH) Programmes are currently in operation. One of the major tasks of these programmes is to create awareness amongst people about the wide range of reproduction related aspects as this is important and essential for building a reproductively healthy society.
(a) “Providing sex education in schools is one of the ways to meet this goal.” Give four points in support of your opinion regarding this statement.
(b) List any two ‘indicators’ that indicate a reproductively healthy society.
Answer.
(a) Providing sex education is one of the most effective ways to create a reproductively healthy society because
(i) it will provide the pre-requisite knowledge to the curious adolescents, which will prevent them from getting misguided.
(ii) it will create awareness about STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) and ways to prevent and cure them.
(iii) it will teach methods of family planning and taking care of a female during pregnancy.
(iv) it will also create awareness about topics such as infertility and different methods of curing the same.

(b) Two indicators of reproductively healthy society are :
(i) Reproductively healthy society does not emphasise on a single sex. In such society, the female and male sex ratio is maintained. Moreover, due to implementation of family planning measures, the population size is under control.
(ii) A reproductively healthy society has fewer incidences of diseases related to reproductive system and few cases of spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Incidences of death of pregnant women or foeticide due to complicated pregnancies are much reduced due to availability of precise health care for pregnant women.

Population Explosion and Birth Control

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question. State one reason why breast-feeding the baby acts as a natural contraceptive for the mother.
Answer.Ovulation, and therefore the menstrual cycle, does not occur during intense lactation period (following parturition). Therefore, breast feeding the baby act as a natural contraceptive for the mother but that too upto a maximum period of six months.

Question. Name an IUD that you would recommend to promote the cervix hostility to the sperms.
Answer.Progestasert is a hormone releasing IUD (intrauterine contraceptive device) which makes the cervix hostile to the sperms.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. What do oral pills contain and how do they act as effective contraceptives? 
Answer.Oral pills contain either progestin (progestogen) alone or a combination of progestogen and estrogen both. Oral pills inhibit ovulation motility and secretory activity of oviducts and changes the cervical mucus that impairs transport of sperms and also alter the uterine endometrium and makes it unsuitable for implantation. Hence, they act as effective contraceptives for human females.

Question. At the time of Indepencence, the population of India was 350 million, which exploded to over 1 billion by May 2000. List any two reasons for this rise in population and any two steps taken by the government to check this population explosion.
Answer. All round development in various fields and increased health facilities along with better living conditions has significantly improved the quality of life of people and has resulted in explosive growth of the population. Two major steps taken by the government to check this population growth are :
(i) People are educated a front the advantages of a small family try using various contraceptive methods.
(ii) There is statutory raising of marriageable age of females to 18 years and of males to 21 years.

Question. Why is “Saheli” considered an effective contraceptive for women to space children?
Answer.‘Saheli’ is an oral contraceptive pill containing non-steroidal preparation called centchroman. It has high contraceptive value with little side effects. Saheli acts by inhibiting ovulation, inhibiting the motility and secretory activity of oviducts, impairs cervix to unable transport of sperms and make uterus unsuitable for implantation. Hence, it is considered as effective contraceptive to space children.

Question. Why are copper containing intrauterine devices considered an ideal contraceptive for human females? 
Answer.Copper containing intrauterine devices (CuT, Cu7, etc) are considered an effective contraceptives for human females as the Cu ions released by them suppress sperm motility and fertilising capacity of the sperms. Hence, they act as effective birth control method.

Question. How do ‘implants’ act as an effective method of contraception in human females? Mention its one advantage over contraceptive pills.
Answer.Subcutaneous ‘implants’ are under the skin implantation of synthetic progesterone. They are an effective contraceptive method as they check ovulation and thicken cervical mucus to prevent sperm transport. ‘Subcutaneous implants’ are more advantageous than contraceptive pills as they are long lasting, once implanted they are effective upto 5 years.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Describe the lactational amenorrhea method of birth control.
Answer.Lactational amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) is a natural method of birth control and is based on the fact that ovulation or the cycle does not occur during the period of intense lactation following parturition. As no medicines or devices are used in these methods, side effects are almost nil. However, this method is effective up to maximum period of six months after parturition.

Question. Name two hormones that are contstituents of contraceptive pills. Why do they have high and effective contraceptive value? Name a commonly prescribed non-steroidal oral pill.
Answer. Two hormones that are constituents of contraceptive pills are progestogen (progesterone) and estrogen.Oral pills may contain either progestogen alone or a combination of both progestogen and estrogen.
Oral (contraceptive) pills have high and effective contraceptive value as they help to prevent pregnancy by inhibiting body’s natural cyclical hormones. They usually stop the body from ovulating, change cervical mucus to make it dificult for sperm to go through cervix, and prevent implantation of the fertilised egg. ‘Saheli’ is a commonly prescribed non-steroidal oral pill.

Question. (a) List any four characteristics of an ideal contraceptive.
(b) Name two intrauterine contraceptive devices that affect the motility of sperms.
Answer.(a) An ideal contraceptive must have the following four characteristics :
(i) It must be safe and user friendly.
(ii) It must be easily available.
(iii) It must be reversible with little or no side effects.
(iv) It must in no way interfere with the sexual drive, desire or sexual act of the user.
(b) CuT and Multiload 375 are two copper releasing IUDs that affect the motility of the sperms.

Question. Name and explain the surgical method advised to human males and females as a means of birth control. Mention its one advantage and one disadvantage.
Answer.Surgical methods of birth control advised to human males and females are vasectomy and tubectomy respectively. In vasectomy a small part of the vas deferens is removed or tied up through a small cut on the scrotum while in tubectomy a small part of the Fallopain tube is removed or tied up through a small cut in the abdomen or through vagina. Both vasectomy and tubectomy are permanent birth control methods with no side effects but one disadvantage of this procedure is that their reversibility is very poor.

Infertility

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Expand : GIFT and ICSI. 
Answer.GIFT : Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer.
ICSI : Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection.

Question. Name any two assisted reproductive technologies that help infertile couples to have children. 
Answer.Two methods of assisted reproductive technology that help infertile couple to have children are test tube baby and Artificial Insemination Technique (AIT).

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. An infertile couple is advised to adopt testtube baby programme. Describe two principle procedures adopted for such technologies.
Answer.Two principle procedures adopted for test tube baby programme are ZIFT (Zygote Intra Fallopian Transfer) and IUT (Intra Uterine Transfer). In this procedure fusion of ovum and sperm is done outside the body of a woman, in the laboratory to form a zygote. The zygote is then allowed to divide forming 8 blastomeres and is transferred into the Fallopian tube (ZIFT – Zygote Intra Fallopian Transfer). If the embryo is with more than 8 blastomeres it is transferred into the uterus (IUT – Intra Uterine Transfer) to complete its further development. Thus , this is in vitro fertilisation (IVF – fertilisation outside the body in almost similar conditions as that in the body) followed by embryo transfer (ET).

Question. A couple where both husband and wife are producing functional gametes, but the wife is still unable to conceive, is seeking medical aid.Describe any one method that you can suggest to this couple to become happy parents.
Answer.In the given case, both the partners are producing normal gametes but female is unable to concieve. This means that there is some problem with Fallopian tube or uterus or hormonal levels of the female. Thus, the method that we suggest to the couple is of surrogacy. In this method the ova from the wife and sperms from the husband are induced to form zygote in the laboratory. The zygote is then allowed to divide to form embryo. A developing embryo is then implanted in the uterus of another female (surrogate mother).The surrogate mother then gives birth to the child.

Question. State any four methods to overcome infertility in human couples.
Answer.Following are the four methods to overcome infertility problems in human couples :
(i) Test tube baby programme : In this method, the fusion of ovum and sperm is done outside the body of a woman (in vitro fertilisation), to form zygote which is allowed to divide to form embryo.
The embryo is then implanted in the uterus where it develops into a foetus and then into the child.
(ii) Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) : In this technique, embryo is formed in the laboratory by directly injecting the sperm into the ovum followed by embryo transfer.
(iii) Artificial Insemination Technique (AIT) : Semen (containing sperms) from husband or donor is artificially introduced into vagina or uterus (IUI).
(iv) Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) : Sperm and unfertilised ova are transferred into the Fallopian tube of the female to complete fertilisation and further development.

Question. “Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection” and ‘Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer’ are two assisted reproductive technologies. How is one different from other?
Answer.The differences between ICSI and GIFT are :

Question. After a brief medical examination, a healthy couple came to know that both of them are unable to produce functional gametes and should look for an ‘ART’ (Assisted Reproductive
Technique). Name the ‘ART’ and the procedures involved that you can suggest to them to help them bear a child. 
Answer.Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) help to solve infertility problems in infertile couples. In the given case, both the partners are unable to produce functional gametes so, the technique that we would suggest to them is Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer (GIFT). In this procedure the superovulation is done as in IVF. Two collected oocytes alongwith about 200,000-500,000 motile sperms for each Fallopian tube are placed in a plastic tube container. It is then transferred through laproscope and inserted 4 cm into the distal end of the Fallopian tube where the combination is injected. This method is better than IVF. Its success rate is 27-30%.

Question. Why is ZIFT a boon to childless couples? Explain the procedure. 
Answer.ZIFT (Zygote Intra Fallopian Transfer) is a boon to childless couples as it helps them to become parents. In this technique, ova from wife/donor female and sperms from husband/donor male are induced to form zygote in laboratory. Zygote is allowed to divide upto 8 blastomeres stage and it is at this stage, a zygote or early embryo is transferred into the Fallopian tube. Implantation takes place in the uterus where further development takes place.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Your school has been selected by the Department of Education to organise and host an interschool seminar on “Reproductive Health-Problems and Practices”. However,
many parents are reluctant to permit their wards to attend it. Their argument is that the topic is “too embarrassing”. Put forth four arguments with appropriate reasons and explanation to justify the topic to be very essential and timely.
Answer.
Parents should encourage their children to attend such seminar as they will get right information regarding myths and misconceptions about sex-related aspects. Following are the four points to justify this topic to be essential:
(i) Awareness of problems due to uncontrolled population growth, social evils like sex abuse and sex-related crimes, etc. need to be created so that children should think and take up necessary steps to prevent them and thereby build up a reproductively healthy society.
(ii) Large group of school students comprises of adolescents who have attained puberty, therefore, these seminars are necessary to provide medical help and care for reproduction
related problems like menstrual problems,infertility, pregnancy, delivery, contraception, abortions, etc.
(iii) Knowledge about sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) is essential as children should be aware that unprotected sex with multiple partners results in the transmission of sex-related problems.
(iv) Increasing population is a major problem of India which is directly related with reproductive health. Children should be aware of family planning programmes such as reproductive and child health care (RCH) programmes.

Question. A large number of married couples over the world are childless. It is shocking to know that in India the female partner is often blamed for the couple being childless.
(a) Why in your opinion the female partner is often blamed for such situations in India?
Mention any two values that you as a biology student can promote to check this social evil.
(b) State any two reasons responsible for the cause of infertility.
(c) Suggest a technique that can help the couple to have a child where the problem is with male partner. 
Answer.(a) There is a common myth prevailing in our society that inability of a couple to have child is due to the infertility of female partner only, it is because female carries the child in her womb. Being a biology student we should create awareness among people that both male and female partners equally contribute for having a child. is is because baby is formed from zygote that is formed by fusion of both male and female gametes. Hence, infertility in either male or female can be responsible for inability to have child. Infertility in both males and females can be easily cured as there are so many specialised infertility clinics which provide treatments to childless couples. In case treatment is not possible, the couples can be assisted to have children through certain special techniques called the assisted reproductive technologies.

(b) Infertility can be due to following reasons:
(i) Infertility in males can be due to low sperm count, blockage of vasa deferentia and vasa efferentia affecting sperm transport, hormonal deficiency,impotency (inability to erect and penetrate penis into vagina of female) and presence of anti-sperm antibodies in semen.
(ii) Infertility in females can be due to ovulation disorders, abnormality in uterus, blockage or damage to Fallopian tubes, chronic endometritis, fibroid in uterus, etc.

(c) If the problem is with a male partner then artificial insemination technique can be adopted. In this technique the sperms collected either from the husband or a healthy donor are artificially introduced either into the vagina or into the uterus (IUI-Intra- Uterine Insemination) of the female.