Child spacing, a pathway to healthy families – Medical Practitioner

Dr Deborah Hassan of The Change Initiative (TCI) on Monday said child spacing,
otherwise called Family Planning (FP) is a pathway to healthy and wealthy families in Nigeria.

NAN reports that family planning is the practice of controlling the number of children one wants to have, and the
intervals between their births, particularly by means of contraception or voluntary sterilisation.

READ ALSO: Association advises agro women on child spacing

FP 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.

Hasaan, therefore, told NAN that “family planning or child spacing is all about one taking charge or control of his or her family size.”

She explained that people decide on the size of their families based on the resources they have to cater for them, aimed at engendering
healthy families.

She added that “when a woman gets enough rest in between pregnancies, she becomes healthy and she has the the ability to carry healthy
pregancies, have safer deliveries and also give birth to healthy children.

“The man will not be psychologically/physically stressed in catering for the needs of his family because it also makes him free from
some diseases and ultimately make him live a healthy life.”

The medical practitioner, who described family planning as the way to go, advised families to adopt it for quality life.

She explained that “a man that has just enough family size that his resources can cater for and healthy enough to work more, will have
enough money to save and invest in different streams of income-earning ventures.

“Also, when a woman spaced childbirth, she will be healthy enough and also have time to pursue either her education or career, hence
contribute to the finances of the family.

“Furthermore, when family members are healthy, resources will not be wasted in buying medicines or paying hospital bills and such
money can be saved for something different.”