About 11 million women get pregnant in Pakistan every year and 3.8 million of them are women who did not really want to get pregnant. Tha...
About 11 million women get pregnant in Pakistan every year and 3.8 million of them are women who did not really want to get pregnant.
That is why 69% of these 3.8 million women end their pregnancy through abortion. The methods used for abortion are often unsafe and many women die in the process.
Of the 3.8 million women who get pregnant unintentionally, about 10 percent lose their pregnancies for a variety of reasons. Thus the remaining 20% of the children born are not part of their plan. That is, either the parents did not have the resources to raise such children or the health of women could not afford this motherhood.
The figures, compiled by the Population Council, an international body working on population and planning in Pakistan, also show that every married couple in Pakistan has at least one involuntary child.
A woman of childbearing age gives birth to an average of 3.6 children. This rate is the highest in South Asian countries.
According to the Population Council, 5.2 million children are born in Pakistan every year. Due to this rate of population growth, in just 30 years, the population of Pakistan will be around 350 million.
So at that time so many people in Pakistan will be able to get food, water, housing and employment for themselves?
The Population Council says that if Pakistan's population continues to grow at the current rate of 2%, "by 2040, Pakistan will need 19 million more homes and 117 million new jobs."
Another 85,000 primary schools will have to be built in the country. Providing only drinking water to such a large population would be a major challenge. Pakistan is currently one of the top three countries facing water scarcity.
According to experts, Pakistan can largely save itself from such potential problems if it can control population growth. Pakistan has been following family planning methods for decades. That is, different methods of contraception are adopted.
So does this mean that Pakistan can easily control the population? Experts and statistics show that this is not the case. It will be difficult for Pakistan to control the growing population.
The main reason for this is that the number of people who are using safe and modern methods of contraception is very low.
How many people in Pakistan use contraceptive methods?
Samia Ali Shah, project director of the Population Council, told the BBC that the rate of CPR use in Pakistan is only 34%. And the last eight to ten years have seen an increase of only about one percent.
This means that most women of childbearing age in Pakistan are not using contraceptives. But do these women not want to use such methods or do they not have access to them?
"there are about 7 million couples in Pakistan who want to use modern methods of contraception but cannot." According to Samia Ali Shah, this is about 17% of women of reproductive age.
"If these women were given access to modern contraceptive methods, Pakistan's CPR would immediately rise to more than 50 per cent."
So the question is why this did not happen and what is the difficulty in getting it.
'Abortion pill abuse is on the rise'
Dr. Rabia Natash has been working as a Gynecologist for many years in the Life Center of Hameed Latif Hospital, Lahore. Their observation is that in Pakistan, there is a tendency to use unsafe methods of abortion instead of using contraceptives.
The abortion pill is readily available at medical stores. According to Dr. Rabia Natash, many women use the drug on their own without consulting a doctor.
Such abortions not only endanger a woman's life but also adversely affect her ability to have children.
According to Dr. Rabia Natash, in cases where this method of abortion cannot be used, women seek the help of gifted doctors and midwives to get rid of the child born as a result of unintended pregnancy.
"We also had a woman brought to the emergency room whose midwife had been pulled out by a midwife during an abortion. Despite our best efforts, we were not able to save his life. "
Dr. Rabia Natash believes that women and married couples in Pakistan need to be taught that "adopting contraceptives is better than abortion."
What contraceptive options do women have?
Dr. Rabia Natash said that like other countries of the world, Pakistan has almost all the modern methods of contraception which are very effective and safe.
It just depends on the needs of the married couple or what kind of family planning they want and they can choose the method accordingly.
"We have pills that are taken with water, as well as syringes," he said.
She says it is suitable for couples who want a few years apart between children. "There are implants for this and it is a very effective and safe method of contraception for three to five years."
In addition, there are 'intrauterine devices', meaning devices placed in the uterus, including 'Copper Tea' and 'Myrina'. According to Dr. Rabia, Copper Tea in particular is a very cheap and effective tool.
Why aren't women in Pakistan adopting these methods?
Dr. Rabia Natash says her observations show that married couples or women who do not use or are afraid to use these modern methods of contraception have misconceptions about them.
"For example, some people think that women lose their ability to have children by taking pills or taking injections. This impression is completely wrong." In contrast, unsafe methods of abortion can be dangerous. ۔
According to Dr. Rabia, one of the misconceptions regarding modern methods of contraception, namely intra uterine devices, is that the copper tea placed in the uterus leaves its place or it affects the ability to have children.
"It simply came to our notice then. If the copper tea is kept by an authorized doctor, it will never leave its place and the impression that it may affect the ability to have children is completely wrong.
According to Dr. Rabia, these methods are being used all over the world only after full confirmation of their safety.
Why aren't women who want to adopt contraceptives?
Effat Latif has been working as a lady health worker in Lahore for the past several years. In addition to working on maternal and child health, their primary responsibilities include educating women and married couples about family planning methods and helping them to adopt them.
Speaking to the BBC, she said that ten to twelve years ago, it was very difficult to persuade women, especially in rural areas, to start a family. However, over the years, they have seen a change in this trend.
"Now there are a lot of women who want to use contraception. "We don't want the baby right now because we don't have the resources to raise it," she says. Her husband also supports her.
"Many married couples used contraceptives, including pills and condoms," says Effat Latif. Most of them were couples who were embarrassed to buy condoms or pills from the medical store themselves. Or they may not be able to afford it. "
According to Lady Health Worker Effat Latif, these contraceptive devices have not been provided to her by the government for the last two years. So they were not reaching out to the women who relied on lady health workers.
"They used to get these methods from us because they trusted us and they got them at home for free. But when we can't find them, how can we reach them? "
She said she knew many couples who had had unintended pregnancies during that time.
"His mother-in-law doesn't want us to meet him."
According to Lady Health Worker Effat Latif, most of the women who are unable to use family planning methods are under pressure from their in-laws or husbands.
"There are a lot of women whose mothers-in-law want their son to have a big family or some want more sons so they forbid their daughters-in-law to adopt family planning methods. His mother-in-law did not want us to meet him.
Despite this, Lady Health Workers gain the trust of women and work with them to make them aware of the benefits of family planning.
However, according to Efat Latif, one of the main reasons for the rise of CPR in Pakistan is that lady health workers are being assigned to many other campaigns, due to which they have not fulfilled their responsibilities regarding family planning. Can't find the time to do it.
Why is there a shortage of contraceptive products in Pakistan?
The rate of contraceptive use in Pakistan (CPR) is very low compared to other countries in the region. The rate is 62 percent in Bangladesh and more than 74 percent in Iran.
Dr Zafar Mirza, a former adviser to the Pakistani prime minister on health and health systems, told the BBC that one of the main reasons for this was the low availability of contraceptives in Pakistan.
Also read
Has condom use reduced the burden of family planning on women?
Pregnant or Family Way: 'We make even ordinary things a shame'
What is the reality of misconceptions about contraceptives in Pakistan?
Condoms or sterilization, which method of contraception is successful?
He said that in the last two to three years, at least 50% of the districts in Pakistan had no contraceptive devices or methods available in the public sector or government level facilities. This means that even if women needed them, they were not available to them.
Dr Zafar Mirza said that the reason for such widespread non-availability was that the system of procurement and supply of contraceptives at the government level was not functioning properly. Not procured and supplied on time.
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