By Victor Adeoti
“My husband prevented me from taking up family planning after the birth of our third child. He said I will be promiscuous, if he allows me to do undertake it.
“But after the birth of our fourth child, I took family planning method without his knowledge.
“I did this to preserve my life because of his too much demand for sex”, says Mrs Ibironke Adekunle, at Asubiaro Family Planning Unit in Osogbo where is undergoing here procedure.
Ibironke’s experience is one out of many other experiences of women whose husbands did not allow to undergo family planning methods due to misconceptions.
Family planning experts are of the opinion that due to misconceptions and myths about family planning, most men, especially in the rural areas do defy unplanned pregnant risks and stop their wives to embrace the family planning methods.
These men are of the opinion that family planning will give their wives licence to start having sexual affairs with other men since they cannot get pregnant.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines family planning as the ability of individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births.
According to the organisation, family planning serves three critical needs; helps couples avoid unplanned pregnancies, reduces the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and reduces the rate of infertility.
The organisation also says that the use of contraception advances the human right of people to determine the number and spacing of their children
However, in spite of misconception of promiscuity about family planning methods, WHO says the number of women desiring to use family planning has increased over the past two decades from 900 million in 2000 to nearly 1.1 billion in 2021.
The UN agency also says that between 2000 and 2020, the number of women using modern contraceptive methods increased from 663 million to 851 million while additional 70 million women are projected to join by 2030.
Therefore, the question posed by family planning observers is: does the procedure truly make women to be promiscuous?
Medical experts think otherwise. Instead, they say, it gives husband and wife the opportunity to plan and space their children for a healthy living.
According to them, promiscuity itself is a character or attitude of an individual, whether they take up family planning or not.
Mrs Ololade Abatan, Family Planning Coordinator, Osun Ministry of Health, says family planning method does not women to be promiscuous.
According to her, family planning is for the effective management of the home and the well-being of women.
“This orientation that men have that women become promiscuous after taking up family planning method is not correct.
“We are talking to our men to support our women to take up family planning.
“We are educating our men that family planning is to ensure that there is peace, understanding and collaboration between husband and wife.
“Family planning allows for peace in the home and not a licence for women to be promiscuous.
“We are always happy whenever we see men who follow their wives to take up family planning in our facilities.
“It shows that they care about the welfare of the wives,” she said.
Abatan said that myth, misconception, lack of access, medical barriers, and knowledge, among others, were some of the barriers to family planning.
Similarly, Mrs Roseline Akinlade, Adolescent Desk Officer, Osun Primary Healthcare Board, said the main motive of a woman in adopting family planning is to make her life safe and not to be promiscuous.
Akinlade said that family planning can save women from health risks that could arise from unplanned pregnancies or some condition that can arise after childbirth. Some in some cases, such risks are fatal.
“Family planning does not promote or increase sexual drive. Whoever a woman is before adopting family planning is what she will be after.
“What family planning will do to a woman is to make her be at rest, enjoying her husband without the fear of unplanned pregnancy.
“Promiscuity itself is a character or attitude of an individual, whether they go for family planning or not.
“I will also say that it is a wise man that supports his wife to adopt family planning.
“This is because if men see what women go through during labour, they will not wish that their wives go through that in two or more years,” she said.
Akinlabi appealed to men to always support their wives in taking up family planning methods
Mr Akin Jimoh, the Director of Programme, Development Communication, a non-governmental organisation, Lagos, said motherhood begins with empowering women to plan and space their pregnancies according to their health, economic, and social circumstances.
Jimoh said that by prioritising family planning, government willn.ot only safeguard maternal health, but also pave the way for stronger, healthier families and communities, thereby contributing to a brighter future for all.
According to him, family planning does not promote promiscuity rather plays a pivotal role in empowering women to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.
“By expanding access to contraception and maternal care services, we can mitigate the risks associated with unintended pregnancies, reduce maternal mortality rates, and enhance overall maternal well-being”, he said.
Dr Taiwo Johnson, the team lead for The Challenge Initiative (TCI), a non-governmental organisation, said family planning is the cornerstone of maternal health.
Johnson said family planning offered women the autonomy to make informed choices about their reproductive futures.
“Through accessible family planning services, women will be empowered to navigate their maternal journey with dignity and ensure safer outcomes for both mother and child”, he said.
Sharing her experience about family planning, Mrs Yetunde Hassan, a house wife, said she has been on family planning for the past five years without any complication or accusation of infidelity by her husband.
Hassan said her husband encouraged her to take up family planning options after the birth of their third child.
“Because of the trust we share, my husband is the one that encouraged me to take family planning and that is about five years ago
“He was the one that even reminded me to go for renewal when the one I am using expired.
“Family planning does not in any way promote promiscuity, rather it is good for child spacing and good health for women”, she said.
Echoing similar sentiment, Alhaja Suliat Omolaja, a Family Planning Coordinator in Osogbo sais more women were taking up family planning methods in the state.
Omolaja say due to the present economic situation in the country, more women were embracing family planning facilities with little mobilisation.
“Considering the situation of the economy, more women are now flowing into the facilities to take up family planning methods with little effort.
“We need little effort to push women to come for family planning now, unlike before that we have to mobilise, encourage, educate and counsel them before they come.
“They are now coming out of their shell to pick up family planning methods. The situation of the economy is already pushing the message of family planning to women in the state,” she said.
She urged men to support their wives to take up family planning methods, adding that family planning would not in any way make wives to be promiscuous.
“The orientation that men have is that women become promiscuous after taking up family planning.
“This is not correct and we have been educating our men that the family planning method is not a license for their wives to be promiscuous.
“Rather it is to allow for peace, understanding, and collaboration between husband and wife”, she said.
Family planning experts say that there is need for more awareness to disabuse the myths and misconception about the methods.
They also say that when births are spaced out, families can effectively distribute resources and focus on each child, leading to improved access to education and holistic growth for the children, among other economic and social advantages. (NAN Features)
