Promoting Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy with Young Married Women in Northern Nigeria: A Short Report

Cate Lane, Yaikah M. Joof, Aisha Ahmed Hassan, Shannon Pryor

Abstract

The persistence of early and closely spaced pregnancies in Northern Nigeria contributes to maternal and child morbidity and mortality.   A technical working group to WHO recommended that following a birth, a woman should space her next pregnancy by at least 24 months, and following a miscarriage or abortion, a woman space her next pregnancy by at least six months.  UNICEF, UNFPA and WHO also recommend that a woman delay her first pregnancy until 18.  These recommendations comprise the concept of Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy.  The Extending Service Delivery Project (ESD) partnered with the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria and religious leaders to educate communities about the benefits of using family planning to practice HTSP in five local government areas.  Informal discussions with 148 women and 28 men found high recall of the HTSP recommendations and favorable attitudes toward spacing and family planning although many remain concerned about the side effects of contraceptive methods (Afr J Reprod Health 2012 (Special Edition); 16[2]: 263-269).

 

Résumé

La persistance des grossesses précoces et étroitement espacées au nord du Nigéria contribue à la morbidité et la mortalité maternelle et infantile.  Un groupe de chercheurs techniques qui travaille pour l’OMS a recommandé que suite d’un accouchement, il faut qu’une femme espace son prochain accouchement d’au moins 24 mois et suite d’une fausse couche ou un avortement, une femme doit espacer sa prochaine grossesse d’au moins six mois.  L’UNICEF, l’UNFPA et l’OMS recommandent aussi que la femme atteigne l’âge de 18 ans avant sa première grossesse.  Ces recommandations constituent le concept de l’Occurrence et l’Espacement  Sains de Grossesse (OESG).  Le projet de l’Extending Service Delivery (ESD) a collaboré avec la Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria et les leaders religieux pour sensibiliser les communautés sur les avantages de l’utilisation de la planification familiale dans la pratique de l’OESG dans quatre Administrations Locales.  Les discussions non formelles avec 148 femmes et 28 hommes ont montré que les participants se souviennent bien des recommandations de l’OESG et des attitudes favorables envers l’espacement et la planification familiale, quoique beaucoup d’entre eux se soucient des effets secondaires des méthodes contraceptives (Afr J Reprod Health 2012 (Special Edition); 16[2]: 263-269).

 

  Keywords: Married adolescent, Reproductive health, Family planning, Spacing of pregnancy, Religious leaders

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References

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The Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) is a national nongovernmental organization that works to promote Islam and to improve the socio-economic status of women, youth and children in Nigeria through education, outreach, training, health and humanitarian services, micro-enterprise and advocacy. FOMWAN was a partner on the 2004 - 2009 Pathfinder International led COMPASS (Community Participation for Action in the Social

Sector) Project implemented in four Northern Nigeria states and Lagos state to improve the quality of health and education services.

An imam is a leader of congressional prayer in a mosque

The Council of Ulama is the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari’a law and oversee the Shari’a Commission.

Many FOMWAN members run Islamiyya schools, which integrate Qu’ranic teachings with basic literacy and numeracy education, especially for women.

The initial training of religious leaders in February 2009 and their subsequent activities in the mosque and the community sparked the interest of other imams in the state, who requested similar training. Independently of ESD, the Shari’a Commission and the Council of Ulama trained nearly 1000 additional imams. Some imams have reported disseminating information on FP and HTSP to madrasas (Muslim schools) in Niger and Senegal.

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