FAMILY PLANNING ONLY OPTION FOR PREVENTING UNWANTED PREGNANCIES BY BABA ALI MUSTAPHA

          

 Preventing an unwanted pregnancy is as important as planning for a baby. The need for exercising voluntary control over conception is rapidly increasing with a burgeoning global population. Every time a child is born in one part of the globe a new one is being conceived somewhere else. Thus we have a vicious cycle of birth and conception with little hope of breaking it.

          A baby should be born only when it is wanted and not because it cannot be prevented. But it is astonishing that despite the wide choice of family planning methods available to suit individual requirements and the pumping of millions of dollars into birth control programme, the number of unwanted pregnancies is continuing to rise. Worldwide, one pregnancy in five is unwanted. In some countries, the proportion is even higher.

          Population control has always been a baffling enigma to governments, planners and demographers. This decade, the world will add a record breaking 120 million people every year. There seems to be no let up in the flood of human beings invading the planet earth and upsetting its delicate ecological balance.

          Sadly, half of the human population is unwanted and unplanned and comes from the poor undeveloped regions of the world. Statistics reveal that one-fifth of all pregnancies in developing countries are unwanted and not and an estimated 450 million people worldwide still have no access to quality family planning.

          In poor third world countries an unwanted pregnancy inevitable means an unwanted baby. Potbellied, half-naked, skinny children, uncared for and unloved are common sight.

          On the other hand, in the industrialized, developed countries an unwanted pregnancy would, in the minority of cases, result in a Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) a euphemism for abortion rather than risk the hazards of repeated abortions rather than go in for any form of contraception. The human number has been kept in reduced levels in developed countries largely because abortion is being increasingly used as a family planning strategy, be it overtly or covertly.

          In developing countries characterized by poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, women’s bodies are so grossly misused that they continue procreating the whole time they are in the fertility circle. Menopause is their only release from child bearing. Motherhood is the best thing that can happen to a woman. But the joys of motherhood can wane if that experience is stretched too far. Therefore, women should have a final say in the number of children they want because ultimately they are saddled with the biological liabilities of child bearing and rearing, besides the risk of death in child birth. Every year half a million women die in pregnancy or childbirth.

          While the world has seen rapid advancements in the human reproduction system, reproduction control is an area still marked by uncertainties. The goals have always surpassed the targets by large numbers.

          In ancient, primitive societies, the concern was over how to keep the human race alive. Epidemics like Plaque and other killer diseases along with natural disasters like famine, flood and wars were wiping out large pockets of human population. Childbirth itself was a risky and dangerous process, and infant and child mortality were very high. The opposite holds true now in this modern age. Better medical techniques and healthcare have led to a considerable reduction in infant mortality and a longer life expectancy. The population rate has increased by 1.7 billion reaching 5.7 billion, with almost all of the increase in developing countries where it has undermined the efforts of improved growth. Another 2.8 billion is expected to be added to the total by the year 2025 i.e. 7.8 billion.

          The welfare of humanity depends upon every adult-man and woman and their determination to control conception. Population policies and programs are meant to effect individual’s behavior. But if people continue to have more babies than they want, it is obvious that family planning options are not available to them.

          Meanwhile, the United Nation (UN) is debating a 20 year old plan to stabilize the world’s population.

          A series of programs to provide birth control, health and education to women and girls will result in lower birth rate, according to UN Population Fund.

          Finally, the article was originally published in MAHJUBAH MAGAZINE, Vol. 15, No. 12 with slight editing.

          Baba Ali Mustapha is with the Department of Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Environment, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.