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Mercy Ngwebvu
HILLARY Clinton was recently quoted saying: “You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning…”This remains significantly important for women to practise family planning especially in developing countries.
An estimated 222 million women in developing countries like to delay or stop childbearing, but are not using any method of contraception. This has become a cause of concern and interviews carried out revealed interesting issues which women were stating as reasons for not practising family planning.
Besides prevention of the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, which is aided by some contraception methods, family planning reduces the need for unsafe abortions.
It also reinforces people’s rights to determine the number and spacing of their pregnancies.
Most of the women who admitted that they were not using any contraceptives apportioned the blame on their husbands saying they did not allow them to take contraception. This showed that the issue had nothing to do with religion.
“My husband and I have three children (one, three and four years old), but he does not allow me to go on the pill or any other form o contraception.
“This has put me at a disadvantage because my children are too close together which is quite strenuous on my body. I have not had time to let my body recover and I am scared it will affect me in the long run,” said one woman who stays at Chimoio Flats in Sakubva.
It is sad to note that sometimes people take serious issues for granted thereby retarding the nation’s progress as well as putting the health of others at risk.
Promotion of family planning and ensuring access to preferred contraceptive methods for women and couples is essential to securing the well-being and autonomy of women, while supporting the health and development of their respective communities.
More so, practising family planning helps in preventing pregnancy-related health risks in women.
A woman’s ability to choose if and when to become pregnant has a direct impact on her health and well-being.
Family planning therefore allows spacing of pregnancies and can delay pregnancies in young women at increased risk of health problems and death from early childbearing, as well as preventing pregnancies among older women who also face increased risks.
It enables women who wish to limit the size of their families to do so. Evidence suggests that women who have more than four children are at increased risk of maternal mortality.
Family planning can prevent closely spaced and ill-timed pregnancies and births, which contribute to some of the world’s highest infant mortality rates. Infants of mothers who die as a result of giving birth also have a greater risk of death and poor health.
Developing countries are in dire need of economically active people who will see to the betterment of their nations; therefore women in these countries should play a role by taking into serious cognizance the issue of family planning.
Additionally, having smaller families allows parents to invest more in each child. Children with fewer siblings tend to stay in school longer than those with many siblings.
Family planning has always been a sure way of enabling people to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health.
It represents an opportunity for women for enhanced education and participation in public life, including paid employment in non-family organizations.
It is also key to slowing unsustainable population growth and the resulting negative impacts on the economy, environment, and national and regional development efforts.
Research; according to the World Health Organisation shows that the use of contraceptives has increased in many parts of the world, especially in Asia and Latin America, but continues to be very low in sub-Saharan Africa.
The unmet need for contraception remains too high. This inequity is fueled by both a growing population, and a shortage of family planning services. In Africa, 53 percent of women of reproductive age have an unmet need for modern contraception.
Online Reporter