KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES OF FAMILY PLANNING AMONG WOMEN OF CHILD BEARING AGE IN ANAOCHA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA ANAMBRA STATE

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Background of the Study

Family planning allows people to attain their desired number of children and determine the   spacing of pregnancies. It is achieved through use of contraceptive methods and  the  treatment of infertility  (WHO Factsheet No 351, 2012). Promotion of family Planning, and ensuring access to preferred contraceptive methods for women and couples,   is essential to securing the wellbeing and autonomy  of women while supporting  the health and development of communities.

 

The benefit of family planning are numerous, including preventing pregnancy-related health risks in women, such as material mortality which increases as  women have more children after the 4th  one. By reducing the rates of unintended pregnancies. Family planning also reduces the need for unsafe abortion.   Other benefits  according to WHO factsheet no 351 (2012) include reducing  infant mortality, helping women to prevent HIV/AIDs, empowering people and enhancing education, reducing adolescent pregnancies and slowing population growth. Concerning family planning, is key to slowing down  unsustainable  population growth and  resulting negative impacts on the economy, environment, national and regional development efforts.

 

Globally an estimated 222 million women in developing counties would like to delay child bearing but are not using any method of contraception. Some of the reasons are limited choice of methods, access to contraception, particularly among young people, pooer segment of population fear  or experiences of side effects, cultural or religions opposition   poor quality of available  services  and gender based barriers etc.

The unmet need for contraception  remains too high thus unequity is fuelled by both a growing population, and a shortage of family planning services. In Africa 53% of women of reproductive age have an unmet need for modern concentration. In Asia and Latin America and the carri bean the levels of unmet needs are 21% and 22% respectively.

The rapid growth of the worlds population over the past one hundred  years results form  a difference between the rate of birth and the rate of death.  In today’s world, owns to improved nutrition, sanitation, and enhance care, more children survive their first five years of life. The combination  of a continuing  high birth rate and  a how death rate is creating a rapid population  increase in many counties in Asia, Latin America   and Africa.  Over population refers to the conduction of having more people than can live on the earth in comfort, happiness and health and still live a world a fit place for future generation (Kinder, 2013)

 

It took the entire history of human kind for the population to reach 1 billion around 1810. Just 120 years later, this doubled to 2 billion in 1930, then 4 billion in 1975 (45 years later). The number of people in the world has risen form 4.4 billion in 1980 to 5.8 billion. Its estimated that the population could double again to nearly 11 billion  in less than 40 years (2020). This means that more people are now being added each day than any other time in human history  (Kinder, 2013).  According to UNFPA estimations  the total population is likely  to reach 10 billion by 2025 and from to 14 billion by the end of the next century unless birth control use increase dramatically  around the world within the next two decate (Kinder, 2013).

The commonest population characteristics which have implications for population growth  are birth rates and death rates and both  have fallen in many places.

However, death rates have  fallen faster than birth  rates. It I s estimated that there are  about 1.6 births for each death in more developed nations and 3.3 birth for each death in less developed nations the results  is that the world population continuances to grow.

In Nigeria, as well other nations in sub-Saharan Africa, the population growth rate is highest in the world, with an arrange of 2 86% annually (Mustapha, 2008). Nigeria estimate is about 3.0% (NDHS, 2008) with such a rate of growth, Nigeria has becomes the most populous  country in Africa and occupies prominent position among the  world counties in terms of population. We are already facing population explosion in Nigeria.

The consequences of over population/ population explosion are all too obvious. Population grows fastest in the worlds poorest counties high fertility rates have  been strongly correlated with poverty and high child/ mortality rates. Conversely, falling fertility rates are generally associated  with improved standards of living, increased life expectance  and lowered infant  mortality over population and poverty have  long been associated with increased diseases death, and, people high packed into unsanitary housing are inordinately vulnerable   to natural disasters and  health problems (Kinder, 2013).

Population control is the practicing  artificially  altering the growth  rate of the population historically, human populations control has been implemented by limiting the population birth  rate, usually,   government  mandate and has been undertaken as a response to factors including  higher increasing levels o f poverty, environmental concerns religions reason  and over population  world wide.  Population control movement are driving reproductive health and family planning programmes. (Kindsen, 2006). Contraception is one of the major method of populations control.

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