Healthy Family Planning - Essay Example

The journal “Promoting Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy with Young Married Women in Northern Nigeria" focus on reproductive issues in young women. Through research and surveys, the Extending Service Delivery (ESD) and Pathfinder International Nigeria collect information on how young Nigerian women and teenagers plan their families. The organizations discover that since the largest population in northern Nigeria are Muslims, it is common that most women get married at a young age and bear many children due to low-income family planning.

Through the help of the local community and religious leaders, the ESD and other local groups seek to educate the women on the importance of proper family planning. They teach them about the benefits of bearing children at the right age and with favourable gaps. Additionally, the organizations focus on delivering the families from a retrogressive religious culture that push them to poor living standards.

After some time, the organizations conduct another survey to assess the impact of their teachings on the communities. Through interviews, they get to learn about the fears and concerns of the family men and women and learn about the changes they should make in their next educational programs. The teachings and recommendations given to the young women are in line with the health guidelines of the WHO, UNICEF, USAID and UNFPA. The Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) plays the most significant role in reaching out to these young family women.

Strategies and Intervention

To address the issue of unhealthy family planning, the organizations used several strategies to help make their educative programs a success. First, the research indicated that poor reproductive decisions are not only made by young women but are also influenced by their partners and the community. Therefore, the organizations used the local religious leaders, to educate people on the need for family planning methods. In Nigeria, most communities have the perception that children are God’s gift to the poor people and that it is His will that one should have as many children as possible (Sultan, 2018). The leaders, therefore, seek to eliminate the retrogressive beliefs.

Therefore, FOMWAN trained and recruited 30 imams and five leaders from the local council of Ulama. The local leaders were taught on family planning, Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy (HTSP) and other healthy reproduction-related services offered at health facilities which they were to pass on to the locals (Lane et al. .2012). The imams discussed the family planning issues with men during Friday prayer sessions and couples or youth counselling sessions.

Additionally, the other local leaders conducted door to door visits to young women and their mother in laws educating them on HTSP and family planning (Lane et al., 2012). The young women are also educated during the Islamiyya classes, weddings, naming ceremonies and other public gatherings. During the sessions, the girls get to air their reasons for not using family planning methods and poorly spacing their children.

Policies

According to the results of the survey, a policy that can help control health inequality in this part of the country is enforcing strict laws regarding early marriages. The communities should be educated on the health dangers associated with giving birth at an age as young as 15 years while the young women get information on their legal rights. The men and the elders should also be informed since they support early marriages as part of their customs (Usman et al., 2016). The government can intervene in arresting the men that marry young girls who have not attained the legal age of 18, since they deprive them of their education rights and expose them to health risks.

According to research, poverty and low living standards also lead to the poor spacing of children and low-income family planning (Prata, 2009). The young women may understand the needs and benefits of family planning and spacing but may lack the money to purchase them since they have to prioritize their basic needs. Therefore, local governments can initiate a policy of introducing employment, self-employment schemes and teaching on the importance of education.

Another intervention that the government can use is to providing local health and counselling services to address the issues. After receiving information on family planning methods and contraceptives, some young women admitted that they were scared to talk about personal issues regarding reproduction (Lane et al., 2012). The issues such as previous abortion history, are sensitive topics to discuss with the religious leaders of other local leaders for fear of stigmatization. Therefore, accessible health and counselling services can help young women feel more confident in seeking help and advice on the right family planning methods to use.

Effectiveness of the Policies, Strategies and Interventions

Recruiting religious leaders to talk to the family men on family planning and HTSP, was very useful since they are considered an essential part of the community. The strategy helped spread information fast since the leaders feel the need to portray a compassionate and supportive image towards their followers (Lane et al., 2012). Therefore, they conducted the awareness to the community passionately and recruited other 1000 religious leaders to do the same, using the resources given by the Council of Ulama and the Sharia Commission.

Additionally, most community members, especially the men, are likely to listen more to the advice of the religious leaders, rather than strangers from the sponsoring organizations. As the leaders in the local community, the men play a major in the early marriages and poor spacing of children in the family. Therefore, addressing them directly and convincing them is a significant success. As the breadwinners, the men are also not available for the door to door teachings conducted during the day. Teaching them during the Friday prayers is an effective strategy in reaching the information to them.

The door to door strategy is also an effective approach, especially when educating the female community members. Most of the young mothers in northern Nigerian communities have very young children or are pregnant, which makes it hard to seek counselling services regarding reproductive health. The FOMWAN organization is also well recognized, and therefore, most young women would be willing to follow their advice (Fahm, 2017). The strategy is also a more personalized where the expert approaches the mothers at a woman to woman point of view; thus, the women air their fears on using contraceptives and their reasons for poor family planning.

Other additional policies, such as enforcing the law on the community members who encourage early marriages, can be very effective (Arthur et al., 2017). Educating teenagers on their rights can help them gain a sense of independence and discourage them from following the customs blindly. The local leaders and the men in the community will also obey the law through the advice of the religious leaders who respect and listen to. Also, insisting on the importance of education for young men and women is also very effective since it will help prevent idleness and help community members become more open-minded. Introducing casual jobs for the women enables them feel as an equally important part of the society.

Finally, the intervention of setting up accessible health care centers is the most effective since it will earn confidence from the young women. After the door to door teachings, the women will need to address upcoming issues at a personal level. The healthcare centers will be most appropriate since those who seek the services will be assured of confidentiality. The young women will also get to learn about the contraceptives that best suit them through proper diagnosis.

Conclusion

The issue of overpopulation is common in most developing countries due to retrogressive cultures such as early marriages and poor family planning. Through research, experts have discovered that the issues are due to ignorance and thus proper education and awareness can help solve the problem. Women in such communities lack freedom of expression and their lives are controlled by cultures which pressure them into their roles. Most of these decisions and customs usually have a negative effect on the individual lives and the community at large. For the young women, their bodies are adversely affected because of bearing children when they bodies are not fully developed to handle the process. The customs, on the other hand, hinder the development of the community due to over population leading to low living standards.

Additionally, the mobility risk increases in the community since families with a several children are usually unable to cater for their basic needs. Abortions and miscarriages are also common in the young women who are focus to bear more children within a short period of time. Just like other countries, the Nigerian government is active in educating the public on HTSP, family planning and discouraging retrogressive cultures.

The government also addresses the importance of using affordable contraceptive for the poorer communities and the issues of stigma surrounding side effects of contraceptives. The governments should also insist on the short and long-term benefits of proper birth spacing. Proper communication is key to the success of the strategies, policies and interventions, since it will help clear rumors that influence decisions of the young women.

Additionally, the other local leaders conducted door to door visits to young women and their mother in laws educating them on HTSP and family planning (Lane et al., 2012). The young women are also educated during the Islamiyya classes, weddings, naming ceremonies and other public gatherings. During the sessions, the girls get to air their reasons for not using family planning methods and poorly spacing their children.

Policies

According to the results of the survey, a policy that can help control health inequality in this part of the country is enforcing strict laws regarding early marriages. The communities should be educated on the health dangers associated with giving birth at an age as young as 15 years while the young women get information on their legal rights. The men and the elders should also be informed since they support early marriages as part of their customs (Usman et al., 2016). The government can intervene in arresting the men that marry young girls who have not attained the legal age of 18, since they deprive them of their education rights and expose them to health risks.

According to research, poverty and low living standards also lead to the poor spacing of children and low-income family planning (Prata, 2009). The young women may understand the needs and benefits of family planning and spacing but may lack the money to purchase them since they have to prioritize their basic needs. Therefore, local governments can initiate a policy of introducing employment, self-employment schemes and teaching on the importance of education.

Another intervention that the government can use is to providing local health and counselling services to address the issues. After receiving information on family planning methods and contraceptives, some young women admitted that they were scared to talk about personal issues regarding reproduction (Lane et al., 2012). The issues such as previous abortion history, are sensitive topics to discuss with the religious leaders of other local leaders for fear of stigmatization. Therefore, accessible health and counselling services can help young women feel more confident in seeking help and advice on the right family planning methods to use.

Effectiveness of the Policies, Strategies and Interventions

Recruiting religious leaders to talk to the family men on family planning and HTSP, was very useful since they are considered an essential part of the community. The strategy helped spread information fast since the leaders feel the need to portray a compassionate and supportive image towards their followers (Lane et al., 2012). Therefore, they conducted the awareness to the community passionately and recruited other 1000 religious leaders to do the same, using the resources given by the Council of Ulama and the Sharia Commission.

Additionally, most community members, especially the men, are likely to listen more to the advice of the religious leaders, rather than strangers from the sponsoring organizations. As the leaders in the local community, the men play a major in the early marriages and poor spacing of children in the family. Therefore, addressing them directly and convincing them is a significant success. As the breadwinners, the men are also not available for the door to door teachings conducted during the day. Teaching them during the Friday prayers is an effective strategy in reaching the information to them.

The door to door strategy is also an effective approach, especially when educating the female community members. Most of the young mothers in northern Nigerian communities have very young children or are pregnant, which makes it hard to seek counselling services regarding reproductive health. The FOMWAN organization is also well recognized, and therefore, most young women would be willing to follow their advice (Fahm, 2017). Read More