It was an applause
time for the centre of excellence, Lagos as more women have embraced the state
family planning programmes, reports NaijaAgroNet.
Investigations
by NaijaAgroNet, showed that some
Lagos women gave this indication in chat at the weekend, highlighting the fact
that they have overcome the myths, challenges and misconceptions surrounding
family planning uptake and the likely side effects.
This follows recent reports that the uptake of family planning method in Lagos State has been on the rise, dispelling the myth and misconception on family planning thereof.
Amongst the most common of these myths are perceptions that
family planning causes excessive bleeding and infertility. However, a soaring
number of women have overcome these challenges.
A few of them who shared their experiences with NaijaAgroNet,
explained how they overcame the myths, challenges and misconceptions
surrounding family planning uptake and the side effects.
One of the women, Mrs Fatiyasat Abdul, (real name withheld) a
34 year old trader and a mother of three had little knowledge of Family
planning when she got married over a decade ago.
Abdul said she belonged to the group of Nigerian women that
believe it is God that gives children and provides for their upkeep, hence no
faith in family planning.
This perception, however, changed when Fatimah Abdul was
pregnant with her second child five years after marriage, when a health
provider educated her about family planning and its benefits.
Mrs Abdul narrated her experience in Lagos, pointing out how
her initial excitement about the advantages of family planning was dampened by
friends who discouraged her about it, claiming that family planning will make
her bleed, become infertile and then develop fibroids.
“My friends in the market place discouraged me, saying family
planning will make me not to have children again, and blood will be gushing out
of my body without stopping. That actually discouraged me.”
However, Abdul remarked that if not for her husband who
encouraged her to go back to the hospital after she had her second child, she
probably would not have continued the family planning.
“I was always afraid to do it because of what my friends told
me. That was why I had to stop after six months of using the injectable. I was
able to space my children because my husband used the withdrawal method. But
when I finally gave birth to my last child, I went to the family planning unit
of Lagos Island Maternity Hospital. They educated me on the benefits of family
planning along with the side effects which can be managed.
“It was at that point I realized that what my friends at the
market place were saying was all lies and I also realized that my husband
struggles to pay the school fees of our children and he could be helped if we
embrace family planning,” she said.
And for Betty Samson, a 42-year old beautician and a
mother of two said she heard about family planning over the radio and was able
to do injectable, when she travelled to South Africa, after her first child.
Unfortunately, she experienced some complications as she was
bleeding continuously after her menstruation. When she went back to the clinic
to report her experience, the provider asked her to continue.
When the bleeding continued, she stopped the use. After 10
years, she has conquered her fears and decided to go back to using a family
planning method but this time, an implant.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Performance Monitoring
and Accountability (PMA2020) identified that Contraceptive Prevalence Rate
(CPR) in the state has increased drastically in recent time.
Chuks Egbune/GEE
