Youth prefer chemical shops to family planning centres
Some family planning experts have identified low patronage of family planning methods among the youth, including adolescents, as they prefer to visit chemical shops for all kinds of pills.
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Though some mothers send in their children between ages 12 and 15 for adoption, some experts are of the view that the number is still not encouraging.
A senior nurse in charge of the Family Planning Unit at the Adabraka Polyclinic in Accra, said these mothers quickly brought their children who were sexually active to safeguard them against teenage pregnancy.
In an interview with The Mirror, Mrs Akua Asanfuah said even though some mothers had their own myths and misconception about the methods, it was advisable to adopt them for adolescents as early pregnancy did not only come with some medical complications but a high cost for teen parents, their families and the nation.
According to her, most of the children on the streets were there as a result of early pregnancy, adding that majority of the pregnant teens that visited their facility were ignorant at the beginning.
She stated, “We have a lot to do as a nation. Only a few young people, including adolescents, come on their own for family planning and the number is not encouraging. They prefer to visit the chemical shops for all kinds of pills against visiting the family planning centres for proper advice on choice and usage.”
She, however, cautioned that using the emergency pill as a family planning method constituted an abuse and had serious health implications.
Inaccessible
In recent findings extracted from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), the studies revealed that though preventing teenage pregnancy was considered a priority among policy makers and the public because of its high economic, social and health costs for teen parents and their families, female adolescents faced many barriers in the use of family planning methods which include fear, embarrassment, cost and lack of knowledge.
Mrs Asanfuah explained that the methods were inexpensive and accessible at all their centres, saying the unit was into a lot of public education.
“We should encourage the young ones because all these pills they go in for have their own complications. They abuse it and it will only pave the way for sexually transmitted diseases,” she advised.
Though there are various kinds of pills, she said the Ghana Health Service recommended Microlut and Microgynon pill which was only provided for newly delivered mothers to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
Myths and misconception
The senior nurse also noted that most women believed that being on the method would expose them to some complications such as fibroids, cancer and infertility and so they tend to discourage the young ones from patronising.
Describing the claims as a misconception, she said, “once you are off the method, it is easy to be back to fertility as soon as possible unless you have your own problem. There are so many myths and misconceptions out there, people must come in and find out, we will give you all the information you need to make a choice”.
Citing some of the reasons people patronise the family planning method, she said some users claimed they used it as a supplement for weight gain while others also believed it could terminate pregnancy.
Even though she admitted that women were likely to gain some weight, she explained that it was not always the case.
According to her, it was possible for the country to achieve a policy of limiting the number of children one could have to three through proper family planing methods.
“Family planning methods are popular in the country but the problem is that we as a people are refusing to accept it. We need to change our perception about it,” she stated.