Family planning: Abortion rates going up as only 31% people use contraceptives

Speakers say around 70% of couples not using anything to prevent unwanted pregnancies

KARACHI: The abortion rate in Pakistan is increasing, said senior consultant and gynaecologist Dr Nighat Shah, adding that couples were opting for abortions instead of using safer methods of contraception.

While speaking at a seminar on family planning organised by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) for World Health Day, Dr Shah claimed that this was happening as there was a high demand for different kinds of contraceptive products but there was no supply. She said that most hospitals in rural areas had kept birth control pills and other medication in storage and were not distributing them to the public.

Addressing an audience at PMA House on Thursday, Dr Shah said that the family planning target set by the government back in 1994 had still not been met. Currently, she claimed, only 31 per cent of people in the country were using contraception. The remaining 70 per cent were not using anything to prevent unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. According to Shah, out of those using contraception only 6.8 per cent were using condoms while more traditional methods were popular in 7.9 per cent of families.

Explaining the consequences of frequent pregnancies and lack of awareness about contraceptives, Dr Shah said that it was the mothers and their newborns who suffered the most. "The mortality rate for mothers in Pakistan is 276 out of 100,000," she said. "I met a mother, her daughter and granddaughter — all three were pregnant at the same time."

Dr Sikandar Sohani, a public health specialist, urged the participants to understand the benefits of family planning and said that a proper family set-up ensures a secure life.

Dr Azmat, the deputy secretary of the provincial population department, said that her department had clinics across the province. "These clinics don't work round the clock," she said. "These clinics are not fully equipped to fulfill all requirements of pregnant women." She added that midwives should educate the community about health, vaccinations and family planning.

While talking about pre-marriage counselling, she said that people were still not ready for it. She added that it was time to make them aware of these things.

Other speakers at the seminar said that the right to a healthy family life was intrinsically linked to the recognition of women’s rights.

Eat, pray, love

The finance secretary of the PMA, Dr Qaiser Sajjad, urged participants to keep an eye on the quality of food. "We are facing problem of substandard food items," he said, while announcing that the PMA had set up a complaint cell for food safety issues. He said anyone could lodge a complaint with them over the quality of food. He added that if the case was genuine, they would take it up with the relevant authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 10^th, 2015.