CHILD BIRTH CONTROL THROUGH FAMILY PLANNING IN AFRICA; A BLESSING, A CURSE OR AN ABOMINATION

Africa is a rich continent with vast cultures, traditions and mineral resources. Despite the effort put in place to control child, Africans populations still remains uncontrollable. The population of Africa as at 2018 is 1.282 billion which is 16.64% of the world's population. source (worldmeters.info). The population of Africa is growing in a geometric progression. The population of Africa in 50 years time is projected to be over 2.527 billion.

Area Population (2018)
Eastern Africa (433,643,132)
Western Africa (381,980,688)
Northern Africa (237,784,677)
Middle Africa (168,538,203)
Southern Africa (65,973,818)
source: ( (www.Worldometers.info)

Year Population Yearly %Change Yearly Change
2020 1,352,622,189 2.52 % 31,650,456
2025 1,522,250,093 2.39 % 33,925,581
2030 1,703,537,504 2.28 % 36,257,482
2035 1,896,703,697 2.17 % 38,633,239
2040 2,100,301,731 2.06 % 40,719,607
2045 2,311,561,326 1.94 % 42,251,919
2050 2,527,556,761 1.80 % 43,199,087
source: ( (www.Worldometers.info)

Since the advent of independence for most African countries, the African continent has struggled with a seemingly endless array of development challenges,from civil war and political instability to epidemic disease, chronic food insecurity and pervasive poverty. Despite the poor management of resources, Leadership problems, poverty etc, Africans population has not stop growing in a tremendous. This article would be disusing the reasons why household and families have uncontrollable childbirth rate and the effect it has, the need to control our child birth rate, the meaning of family planning, the advantages of family planning, the disadvantages of family planning and why we must adopt family planing.

The high birth rate in some part of Africa is believed to come from the Islam religion. More than 90% of their population practices the Islamic beliefs. In the Quran there is a statement that says "to better propagate the faith, the Islamic Oumah (community) must procreate, a lot." This belief is that if a man and women of the Islamic religion have a lot of children then they will be proclaiming their faith in a strong manner. Islams also believe in polygamy, which is the practice in where a man is allowed to marry multiple women. This adds to the problem because one man could have on average 14 children with 2 wives. A lot of the communities in Africa rely on farming for their livelihood, so a man and women will have a lot of children to help take care of the farm for many generations. Besides farming families also own small businesses which also doesn't provide enough for a big family. In some African countries women get married at about the age of 16, this means that a women can have children until she is about the age of 45, or until her child baring years are over. In Nigeria for example, a women's reputation and marriage could be destroyed if she refuses to have unprotected sex because the Islamic people believe that "contraceptives are the evil work of the west."

Another factor that cant be ignored is the christian society who believe a child is a blessing from God, the more the number of children you have the blessed your family is even if you don't have the financial ability to care for this children. The christian society does not support polygamy but a woman may have eight nine children without the financial means of caring for them with a mindset of "What the child would live on has been brought by him from heaven"

Another factor responsible for high childbirth rate is the level of illiteracy. the level of illiteracy is so high and even the literate are still sinking the the old African believes and traditions. The government intervention to regulate child birth was abortive because of the level of education we have.

Lastly, high level of poverty in Africa has increased the rate of unwanted pregnancy and thus this also brings about the number of children a lady would have before marriage and after marriage. child bearing is a blessing but when it becomes to much, it is exactly a curse.
The issue of high birth rates is happening in many countries around the world. Most of the countries dealing with high birth rates are also suffering from major poverty. Uganda who has a birth rate of 6.65 as has a poverty rate of 35% and Zambia has a birth rate of 5.6 and a poverty level of 64%.(4) Just from these couple of examples it is obvious to see that high birth rates and poverty are directly related.

When a country has high birth rates the entire country suffers from its direct correlations. I believe that high birth rates cause poverty over an entire country because the more a population grows the more mouths it has to feed, the more bodies it has to clothe and shelter, and more people a country needs to keep healthy and alive so a new generation can grow strong and healthy. In Niger the heat causes the farming to slow down and that causes the food supply to not go around for the people to survive on. Most of Nigeria lives on only a dollar a day, and one dollar can not even come close to feeding a family ranging from 9-18 people on average.
Even small communities in Niger see the impact the high birth rates have on their country. In a small town in Niger a midwife sees about 20 births in her small neighborhood alone. If the statistics are right then our of those 20 births that day only about 3 of those children wont live until they are passed the age of five. I believe the high birth rate in Niger effects the women most of all. The women are forced by their husbands to have many children, and because of the extreme poverty most mothers in Niger will have to watch their children get sick and most likely die of malnutrition.

What is family planning?
The term "family planning" generally refers to methods undertaken that allow women to control when they get pregnant. Frequently, family planning refers to hormonal birth control, such as the pill, injectible birth control, birth control patches and implants. Condoms, contraceptive sponges, diaphragms and spermicide are also frequently used as family planning methods. Finally, natural family planning, also called the rhythm method, requires no pills, hormones or devices. Instead, women monitor their menstrual cycle and refrain from sex during times of the month when conception is most likely to occur.
Family planning services are defined as "educational, comprehensive medical or social activities which enable individuals, including minors, to determine freely the number and spacing of their children and to select the means by which this may be achieved". Family planning may involve consideration of the number of children a woman wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, as well as the age at which she wishes to have them. These matters are influenced by external factors such as marital situation, career considerations, financial position, any disabilities that may affect their ability to have children and raise them, besides many other considerations. If sexually active, family planning may involve the use of contraception and other techniques to control the timing of reproduction. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and management, and infertility management.
Family planning as defined by the United Nations and the World Health Organization encompasses services leading up to conception and does not promote abortion as a family planning method, although levels of contraceptive use reduces the need for abortion.

Reasons for family planning

Raising a child requires significant amounts of resources: time, social, financial, and environmental. Planning can help assure that resources are available. The purpose of family planning is to make sure that any couple, man, or woman who has a child has the resources that are needed in order to complete this goal. With these resources a couple, man or women can explore the options of natural birth, surrogacy, artificial insemination, or adoption. In the other case, if the person does not wish to have a child at the specific time, they can investigate the resources that are needed to prevent pregnancy, such as birth control, contraceptives, or physical protection and prevention.

There is no clear social impact case for or against conceiving a child. Individually, for most people, [10]bearing a child or not has no measurable impact on person well-being. A review of the economic literature on life satisfaction shows that certain groups of people are much happier without children:

Single parents
Fathers who both work and raise the children equally.
Singles
The divorced
The poor
Those who’s children are older than 3
Those who’s children are sick

Advantages of family planning

family planning reduces the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions among women, and allows women the opportunity to choose when the time is right to have a child. Family planning gives women the option to wait until they are financially able to care for a child, and gives them time to pursue educational and employment goals without worrying about the financial burden of an unplanned pregnancy.

Family planning doesn't just benefit individuals. A woman's ability to choose the number of children she wants to have reduces overpopulation and reduces the economic impact of overpopulation. According to the California Department of Health Services Office of Family Planning, the average woman would experience approximately 12 to 15 pregnancies in her lifetime if birth control didn't exist.

Disadvantages of Family Planning
According to a report in the November 2003 International Journal of Cancer, using oral contraceptives for five years or more reduces a woman's chances of getting ovarian cancer in the future. Birth control pills also reduce the risk of ovarian cysts, and certain brands of oral contraceptives may also help clear up acne, regulate or lessen menstrual flow, and reduce menstrual cramps and other premenstrual symptoms.

The side effects of hormonal birth control may stand out as a disadvantage for some women. While many women regularly use contraception without experiencing side effects, complications can and do occur. The most common side effects associated with hormonal contraception include weight gain, headaches, dizziness and nausea. Less common but more serious side effects include stroke, blood clots and ectopic pregnancy.

Though natural family planning poses no health risks, this method is among the least effective at preventing pregnancy, according to the National Women's Health Information Center. Out of 100 women who use natural family planning, approximately 25 will become pregnant.

Reasons Why family Planning should not be ignored

1. Reduction in the rate of unwanted pregnancy
2. Reduction in the rate of stress in the part of the family and society at large.
3. Reduction in the number of dependency, commitments etc
4. Reduction in the rate of poverty, children malnutrition and child abuse.
5. it makes life more easier, less difficulty in raising a family and less responsibility.
6. it reduces the demand for resources and makes a nation more governable.
7. it reduces crime rate.