DEVCOMS, NURHI Dispel Belief that Family Planning Stops Childbirth …Says, it is Sheer Fallacy

DEVCOMS, NURHI Dispel Belief that Family Planning Stops Childbirth …Says, it is Sheer Fallacy

Zainab Tanimu-Kaduna, NIGERIA

There have been lots of misconceptions on the issue of family planning in recent times.

While some people see it as a form of propaganda by Europeans to stop childbearing, others still can’t understand the benefits attached to it.

Family Planning is not what we all think it is.

It is simply the means by which couples regulate or space childbirth. By so doing, helping mothers to properly recover in- between pregnancies.

It is majorly a way of promoting the health and welfare of family group for self and societal benefit and it is voluntary.

Nigeria’s population had continued to increase rapidly with no commensurate development in health care service delivery.

With a current estimated population of 186 million and an annual growth rate of about 2.5%, Nigeria’s huge population, fuelled by high birth rate particularly in the northern part of the country, without good family planning, can be a huge burden with resultant poor health indices such as high maternal and infant deaths.

Nigeria’s maternal and child morbidity is said to be one of the highest in the world.

The Program Officer, Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative,  Hajiya Rabi Ibrahim while presenting her paper titled: Child Spacing Programming in Nigeria: Trends, Attitude and Behavior Framework and Programming  during a training workshop organized by Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS)  and Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiatives (NURHI) for Media practitioners held at Bafra hotel had refuted the claims associated with family planning.

Hajiya Rabi said the misconceptions, barriers and myths surrounding the issue of family planning are sheer fallacies.

These misconceptions she had attributed to the reasons why many women have refused to access family planning services.

“Family planning does not stop childbirth nor is it propaganda by Europeans to stop childbearing. It is simply giving the mother time to rest before another pregnancy for the sake of her health and that of the baby.

That contraceptive pills cause infertility is not true.

Oral pills do not cause cancer or accumulate in the womb. Women who use it can still have children when they want. As soon as she discontinues, she would be pregnant.

Condoms as a form of family planning do not decrease sexual pleasure. And condoms do not break during sex. If it does it means it was not properly used.

“In our family planning centers, you would be educated on the proper way to use it. Avoid the habit of putting condoms in wallets and make sure you do not buy condoms from roadside kiosk that have their shed under the sun nor tear condoms with the mouth. These are things that can make condom break.

When people tell you that Intra-Uterine Device (IUD) can travel to the heart or brain, please tell them it is not true.

“Intra-Uterine Device stays in the uterus and can only come out through the vagina when removed by healthcare professionals.

IUDs do not hurt nor does it cause cancer.

And in the case of the men, there is no side effect to vasectomy and it is not the same as castration. Vasectomy is for men and it does not affect the size of the male organ. The only issue is that the man cannot impregnate a woman.

Please note that before contraceptives are used, counseling and even referrals are a must.

“Family planning preserves the fertility and health of the women. There are lots of benefits for the women when they are allowed the freedom to control the number and spacing of their births.

Frequent child bearing and the accompanying loss of blood could adversely affect the health of the mother. Those were her clear message.

The family planning advocate had described Contraceptive Prevalence rate (CPR)  as unacceptably low and that it has been one of the factors responsible for the increasing incidences of unintended pregnancies which often times resulted in unsafe abortions.

“If you want to know, go into any community and ask for data on deaths. There are usually more women than men and in most cases these women die of pregnancy related issues.”

The consequences of lack of child spacing she said goes beyond that of the mother. It is a kind of a vicious circle which has effect on the child, the family, the community and the nation at large.

“According to the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), five hundred and seventy-six women out of one hundred thousand (576 out of 100,000 women) women die annually in Nigeria as a result of pregnancy and childbirth related issues. Instead of this figure reducing, the 2015 survey showed eight hundred and fifteen (815 per 100,000) recorded death out of every one hundred thousand women.

The major cause of these maternal deaths was due to bleeding after delivery. (Hemorrhage) This indicates that something is not working properly”.

Explaining the benefits of child spacing she said, “mothers are able to have healthy babies, it removes the fear of unwanted babies, mother is able to breastfeed her baby for the number of months she wants, reduces maternal ill health and death as well as promotes father’s social well- being.

The child on his own part would not feel bored and neglected as such less prone to juvenile tendencies. He would not be forced into child labor for trying to help the family and he would have better health and better education.

The family because is well planned would live a better lifestyle.

Family planning allows community to plan and manage its resource effectively which would translate to building a better and healthy nation. She added.

Despite these benefits, poverty she noted reduces the chances of family planning. Poverty rate is high in the country. This, coupled with the low level of education on the part of the women and the fact that they cannot make decisions on issues concerning them makes the problem even worse.

The worrisome aspect of it is that many children are found roaming all over the streets in the name of begging. This she said is unacceptable.

Rabi urged women to take the issue of family planning seriously by visiting available health facilities for proper counseling. According to her, report has shown that there is high level of abortion in married women.

“There is high level of abortion in married women. Take your child spacing method after 48hrs after delivery because it is noticed that women are getting pregnant after 6weeks of delivery”. No side effect. She assured.

Speaking on the issue of adolescent reproductive health, Rabi stressed that adolescence forms an integral part of the population and are the future leaders of tomorrow who need to be guided aright.

By the WHO’s classification, the bracket age of 10-14 is early adolescent. 15-19yrs,  late adolescent and 15 -24yrs, youth.

The truth of the matter she said is that between 24 and 79 percent of these groups are already sexually active therefore; there is the need for them to be exposed to the issue of family planning.

“This would enable them plan their lives and make responsible decisions affecting their lives. Shying away from reproductive issue is sheer hypocrisy otherwise we would be having issue of HIV and the rest. If you do not give them the right information, they would get it from the wrong source. So, why not provide them the needed information and service before they go astray out of ignorance.

Frequent sexually transmitted diseases would affect them in future, particularly the girls”.

“When women and girls have access to family planning, they are able to complete their education, create or seize better economic opportunities, and fulfill their full potential—in short, entire families, communities and nations benefit.” ~ FP2020 Summit, London.

The Program Officer Service Delivery NURHI, Hajiya Rabi called on women to avail themselves to some of the family planning methods classified as follows,

Traditional Methods: abstinence, Prolong Lactation, withdrawal Method, and the use of Charm.

Modern Methods:  the injectable, Oral, barrier Method, (condom)

Voluntary Surgical Contraception: This is not reversible and therefore, one has to sign.

The Cycle Bead method: It works for a woman with 28days cycle.

Rabi said, the Christian and Islamic scholars are in support of family planning as long as such method does not go against the teachings of both religions.

“Islam also allows for Withdrawal Method.

A prophetic Tradition (Hadith) narrated by, Muslim says,

We use to perform withdrawal (‘azl) during the days of the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH). That reached the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and he did not prohibit us from so doing ’(Bukhari da Muslim 694)

By analogical deduction, ‘giyas’, Withdrawal (‘azl)” means that all the barrier methods that prevent conception are allowed.

“Allah (SWT) has shown us the way to space childbearing where He says in the Glorious Quran,

The Mothers should suckle their children for two whole years”. (Q2:233)

… This is the best for the health of both the mother and her child”.

“From the Christian perspective, some family planning methods promoted by the Catholic Church are abstinence, Billings Ovulation method including cycle bead method.

Text from the scripture: “But if any does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and he is worse than an unbeliever”. (1 Timothy 5, 8).

This is saying the importance of spacing pregnancies, values and benefits of family planning and responsible parenthood”.

She argued that before now, some of these practices had existed and used by our fore fathers.

So it would not be wrong to say that family planning is not new afterall.

UNICEF on its part has continued to advocate the well-informed timing and spacing of births, and to draw attention to the well-documented disadvantages for both mother and child of births that are `too close or too many’ and to mothers who are `too young or too old.

For Nigeria to meet the 27 percent target for modern Contraceptive Prevalent Rate (mCPR) by 2020, it is clear that it would not only need the support of the traditional and religious leaders but also the interventions of relevant agencies development partners as well as donor agencies.

Speaking on the Nigerian Urban and Reproductive Health Initiative’s (NURHI) intervention project in Kaduna state Hajiya Rabi informed that Out of the 1,068 primary health care centers spread across the state by El-Rufai’s administration to ensure that women access health care services, 255 centers are to be upgraded by NURHI, Presently work is ongoing in 40 facilities planned for 72hrs clinic makeover.

NURHI’s goal she explained is to increase Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) by 12.5% in Kaduna state by 2020. Since the 36% CPR goal by 2018 is not realizable, they are trying to see that there is supportive environment to speak on family planning (child spacing) freely so that it becomes something that people are familiar with.

According to the NURHI Official,  the program has reached a commensurate level as its activities presently covers 7LGAs of the state. funded by the Bill &Melida Gates Foundation, Managed by Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Program (CCP).

Rabi disclosed that initially the program was meant for cities amongst which were, Abuja, Lagos Ibadan including Kaduna.

It was first introduced in Kaduna in 2009 and because the state recorded the highest level of acceptance in terms of family planning, it became the focus for NURI’s project

The project is funded by the Bill & Melida Gates Foundation, Managed by Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Program (CCP).

With lots of advocacy program by NURHI to educate people on the gains of family planning on the media, (jingles) on Television, Radio, Newspapers as well as Social Media Platforms, the project is recording much success.   She said.

“From baseline assessment, family planning is now gaining ground in Zaria. The women are used to the word, ‘Family planning’. You now see plenty women coming out to access the service.

There was even a case of a Fulani herdsman who came to the facility to access family planning service because according to him, “he wants to travel with his wife”.

The Social Media Expert, One life  Initiative, Sola Fagorusi, at the training Workshop for Blogger/Social Media Influencers had in his paper titled, “Overview of New Social Media Trends and Tools’ emphasized the need to create more awareness to all tendencies of misconceptions and myths surrounding the issue of family planning

He had urged the participants to implore professionalism in all their messages bearing in mind that audiences need to be well informed on issues.

Messages reaching them should have that element of credibility, clarity, gender balances and should be exciting. It should be something people want to know about.

Sola cautioned that messages should be proof read before it is sent. Connectivity with the audience he described as very important.

While taking participants through the use of various social media tools and applications, he made it clear that tools have their purposes as such the right tools and designs that suits messages be used.

The twitter he said is the most effective when it comes to directly reaching out to people.