Tackling Maternal, Neonatal Deaths Through Family Planning

Research has shown that when women give birth continuously over a short period of time, it leads to complications which include; much loss of blood, weakness, and higher risks of having miscarriages as the body becomes weak to carry the foetus and may even cause death.

These are among other major causes of maternal and neonatal mortality; however, family planning has over time provided a means of curbing this menace.

Planning a family ‎is the voluntary practise of controlling the number of children in the family and intervals between their birth particularly by means of artificial contraception or voluntary sterilisation.

Family planning methods includes; injectable, implant, pills, intra uterine device (iud), male and female condoms‎, just to mention a few, will help the family plan properly for each child as well as improve the economic status of the family.

Mrs. Bose Olagunju, 39, a mother of four, whose husband has no job said she cleans peoples compound around Okei-ira, Ifako Ijaiye, in Lagos State and earns between 3,000 to 4000 naira monthly .

“My fourth child, Simisola, was a mis‎take. I did not plan to have her. I already had two boys and a girl. ‎I tried aborting her by all means but ‎the girl refused to be aborted. The local herb I used to prevent pregnancy failed me. It is really hard to cope with my four children now. I have gone to the clinic for family planning. I am using the implant method for five years now,” she revealed.

According to the National Population Commission and ICF international reports on family planning, Lagos State as at 2014, the percentage of married women who use contraceptives decreased from 49.6 to 48.3 percent. Also 12 percent of married women who do not want children and are also not using family planning commodities.

Most families who use family planning method rely on traditional methods, like rhythm or withdrawal methods which have high failure rate leading to unintended pregnancies.‎ Unfortunately health budget allocation has taken a dive in 2017, it is now only N57.2 billion which is 7.05 percent as compared to N64.6 billion, which is 9.76 percent, in 2016.

With the aim to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions‎, ‎the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) has selected some Primary Healthcare Clinics (PHCs) in Lagos State and set up family planning clinics to curb‎ maternal and neonatal deaths.

These clinics are yielding great results as it has helped women and men around the environs to manage and plan their families as desired.

In order to assist Lagos State residents to attain quality life, NURHI in 2016 began a 72-hour renovation and equipping of family planning clinics in 50 selected public health facilities in the state.

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Development Communications (DEVCOMS), in a tour with selected journalists to the facilities‎ showed that residents in the areas that have these facilities have begun to reap the benefits through safe childbirth.

Speaking to journalists during the tour, the Lagos State Team Leader of NURHI, Dr Edun Omasanjuwa, said that NURHI embarked on the project because of the connection between family planning and quality of life.

Omasanjuwa said family planning is “childbirth spacing and having the number of children one can cater for, which is of immense value to maternal and child health, the economy, sexuality and family life generally.‎ Under the programme NURHI took up the facilities in phases, working during the weekends to get it ready for inauguration.”

He said some of the facilities include the Anikulapo PHC in Mushin, Ketu Alapere PHC in Kosofe, Sango PHC in Agege, the Ajeromi General Hospital, Tolu  and Layeni PHCs  in Ajeromi Ifelodun LGA.

Others are the Shomolu General Hospital, Orile Agege General Hospital, Ibafon PHC in Ajegunle, Itire Ijesha PHC and Lakowe PHC.

Mariam Quadiri, 25, with two children said the Implant she did at Itire-Ijesha PHC is for three years and it is her first family planning as she revealed that she is very comfortable with it‎

Also at Itire-Ijesha PHC, Mrs. Yetunde Idowu, 42, mother of three, said that she was happy to access family planning clinic which according to her, the environment is more conducive as she felt at home being counselled and given her preferred method.

She said that her body did not accept the implant method and that she had to opt for pills having been tested and counselled adding that she had encouraged many women in her neighbourhood to go for family planning as it would help to make the quality of their lives better.

Another user, Rukayat Alade, said having accessed a family planning method from the renovated family planning clinic at Ibafon PHC said, “I have no fear of unwanted pregnancy during sex with her husband. I am using Implants. I am taking a break before I can have more children. I have four children.”

For Maria Udoh, she was convinced to use a family planning method by a community mobiliser, shortly after the inauguration of the clinic.

“The mobiliser told me of the importance of family planning and she made me to understand that it will not stop me from having more children if I wanted. Rather, family planning will give me time to recover from the wear and tear of my previous pregnancies and also time to work and save money.

“She informed me that family planning will make me to have more time for my children and husband; I spoke to my husband and he accepted too.

“My husband is even using condoms while I am using the Intra-Uterine Device (IUD). The good thing about this clinic is that the commodities are available and free,” Udoh said.

Mrs Chika Ohaeri, a mobiliser and user at Ibafon PHC, said, “one day, my husband went out to meet friends and somebody talked about family planning. He returned and told me to go to the PHC. I went and asked questions.

“I was not aware of family planning prior to that time; it was after my fifth and last child that my husband told me about it. I eventually got an Implant that will expire in 2019.

“Initially, I had complications; I bled for two months and eight days, I complained to the PHC and was assured that it was normal. Now, I go out to tell people about family planning. Many of my friends have embraced it now,” she said.

Sade Alade, a 35-year-old mother of two also said that the establishment of the family planning clinic had been helpful to her; “I accessed a method after counseling and testing. Before the renovation of the family planning centre, it was not encouraging coming here. There was no privacy and the commodities were not usually available.

“But now, we have a separate room to discuss with the family planning provider and she will tell us the options available to us. My husband is in support of my using a method because we do not want to be having children every year, especially when our resources are not robust.

“I advise other women to always go to a PHC and talk with a trained family planning provider before using any method; they should not act based on the experience of other women,”she said.

Speaking to the Chief Nursing Officer at Ibafon PHC, Mrs Cecilia Oluborode, ‎said, “There has been an increase in awareness about family planning and its benefits, especially in an economy that is faced with recession.

“Due to the overwhelming increase in the country’s population coupled with limited resources to provide for the needs of the people, there is dire need for family planning advocacy.

“NURHI, which is on its second phase with Lagos State as one of its target locations is partnering with the Ministry of Health in this advocacy.

“So far, the DevComs has engaged some of the Primary Health Centres within the state in sensitising the communities on family planning and the response has been commendable.”

Oluborode however added that, “with the makeover that NURHI gave to the family planning clinic in this PHC, people are now visiting here regularly to access one method or the other. Which prior to now, we would see three or four persons per month coming to access a family planning method but now, we attend to 15 or more people monthly.

“The men who are also interested in family planning come here and they want to know how they can access it for themselves or their partners. With the free consumables provided by NURHI to the clinic it has further encouraged more people to willingly come for counselling, testing and to access any of these planning methods that are free.”

Also, Ms Sylvia Utulu, a Social Mobilisation Consultant for NURHI in Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Council Development Area (LCDA), lauded the people’ response to family planning, hoping that it would offer them quality life.

Utulu said “the people’s willingness is overwhelming as a result, there is little difficulty in reaching them. When they hear it is free, it just becomes easy to convince them to use a family planning method. Generally, the men request for Condoms while the women go for Implants which can last up to three to five years.”