The Practice of Family Planning and Birth Control in Nigeria: Challenges, Benefits, and Future Directions.
Family planning is the process by which parents control the amount of child they give birth to. During the time of our grandparents, birth control was rarely implemented or practiced as they weren't not properly civilised and educated. My grandfather had about 7 wives and many children that he couldn't even count them himself.
In those days , when they give birth to high number of children they sometimes use them for farming and those in the North do give out their daughters hand in marriage as early as 15 or even subject their children to hawking on the streets.
Could you believe that in this current time and with the way the world is civilised people still practice this in Nigeria??. I strongly believe you should only give birth to number of children you can fend for and only give birth when you think you have enough resouces to take care of them. Why will you be so cruel to give birth to many children and you can even cater for them.
it really causes me so much pain when i see a little child as young as 10 hawking on the streets when his mates are in school studying.
Family planning is actually practiced in Nigeria through various methods such as injections and implant but there are still few people that do overemphasize and misuse the phrase "Go into the word and Multiply".
I rely solely on the fact that not getting enough education and awareness has made alot of people have certain beliefs and ideas that has made them not see the reasons why family planning and birth control is important.
As of recent data, the average woman in Nigeria bears about 5.4 children in her lifetime, which is significantly higher than the global average. Nigeria is seriously overpopulated and overcongested at the moment and that's because of high fertility rate . People continue to give birth to alot of children even more than they can cater for and there is not even enough resources in the country to even fend for the amount of people living in it.
Another problem, is the health care and infrastructure . Most rural areas in Nigeria often lack sufficient healthcare facilities and trained personnels to provide family planning services effectively which is a major problem we have in the country.
The quality of healthcare personnel trained to administer contraceptive injections is a significant concern. A woman I know opted for a contraceptive injection after deciding, with her husband, not to have more children. Initially, the injection was successful in preventing pregnancy.
However, when she later chose to discontinue the injections, she experienced complications including frequent menstruation and vaginal bleeding.
Her experience talks about a larger issue, which is the inadequate training and support for healthcare personnel in managing contraceptive methods effectively in this country. Such incidents do not only impact individual health outcomes but also reduce people's trust in healthcare services. If stories like hers are shared widely, it could easily prevent others from seeking similar forms of contraception and that is where problem lies.
Addressing these concerns, requires a commitment to improving healthcare training programs and ensuring that all personnels are equipped to provide informed, safe, and supportive care.
The Nigerian government has been actively addressing the challenge of high fertility rates by implementing initiatives such as free birth control awareness programs in government hospitals.
Regardless of that, i still believe more efforts are needed, especially in rural areas where access to healthcare and awareness remains limited.
In conclusion, one of our biggest problem in Nigeira is the issue of high birth rate and if the government can control this in the country effectively, our economy will definitely grow and move forward.
Thanks for reading.
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