FAMILY PLANNING AND ITS IMPLICATION ON COUPLES’ HEALTH IN IKPOBA OKHA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, EDO STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    Background of the Study
            Family planning is sometimes used as a synonym or euphemism for the use of birth control, however, it is most usually applied to a female-male couple who-wish to limit the number of children they have and /or to control the timing of pregnancy (also known as child spacing). According to (Okedare 2002), the issue of family planning all over the world has attracted attention due to its importance indecision making about population growth and development issues. In this wise, geographers have become increasingly alarmed by the precipitous rise in its effect on population growth, not only in Nigeria or the United State of America, but throughout the world.
    The World Health Organization (WHO, 2012) defined family planning as the planning of when to have children and the use of birth control. It is achieved through the use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of involuntary infertility. Lawrence, (2006) on his own, sees family planning as a health service that helps couples decide whether to have children and if so when and how many.
    Onokerhoraaye (2013) also defined family planning as the provision of birth prevention information service and appliances. It also involves teaching men and women about their bodies and teaching them how to prevent births usually with contraceptives but sometimes also with abortion or sterilization. Hatcher and Friedman (1997) opined that family planning is now seen as human right basic to human dignity. Their work further showed that family planning helps women protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies. Since the 1960, family planning programmes have helped women around the world avoid about 40 million unwanted pregnancies, as a result, many women’s lives have been saved from high risk pregnancy and unsafe abortions (Hatcher et al 1997:2, Huezo and Carigma, 1997). However most available works still points to emphasis being placed on the women folks at the detriment of their men counterpart (Olawepo 2003).
    Expanding access to family planning has been a key aim of health and development programming for almost 50 years. Family planning is connected to all eight millennium development goals (MDGs). Family planning generates wealth and reduces hunger. (MDGs-1); prolongs education (MDGs2); empowers women and girls (MDGs-3) save infants (MDGs-4); improves maternal health (MDGs-5); prevents pediatric HIV (MDGs-6); reduces pressure on the environment (MDGs-7); and promotes global partnership (MDGs-8).
    The (WHO) technical service (2012), states that though rarely articulated, family planning may involve consideration of the number of children a couple wish to have as well as age at which they wish to have them. These matters are obviously influenced by external factors such as; marital situations, 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 contraceptives. According to (Robey et al 1994) effective family planning grogram make the rapid spread of voluntary modern family planning methods possible in any country. Such programs help people achieve their personal reproduction goals.
    Last collected in 2006 by the Nigeria National Bureau of statistics (NBS), the total population of citizens in Nigeria was around 166.2million people. Today, it is estimated to have about 180 million people. The United Nations (UN) projected that the overall population of Nigeria will reach about 440 million by the end of the year 2050. By 2100, if current figures continue, the population of Nigeria will be over 900 million. Morgan (2003) on the same issue indicated that in 2002, the total percentage of acceptors of contraceptives was 15% of both men and women of child bearing age. This goes a long way to show the fact that family planning services are not being used by a majority of Nigerian men and women of reproductive age.
    The United Nations population fund (UNFPA) says that, “contraceptives prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the number of abortion, and lower the incidence of death and disability related to complication of pregnancy and child birth”. (http://www.unfpa.org/familyplanning). UNFPA states that “if all women with an unmet need for contraceptives were able to use modern method that additional 24million abortions (14 million of which would be unsafe), 6 million miscarriage, 70,000 maternal deaths and 50,000 infant deaths would be prevented”.  (http://www.unfpa.org/familyplanning). In cases where couples may not want to have children just yet, family planning programs help a lot. Federal family planning programs reduced child bearing among poor women by as much as 25 percent, according to a University of Michigan study.
    The World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank estimate that 3 person per year provide basic family planning and neonatal health care to women in developing countries. This would include contraception, prenatal, delivery and post natal care in addition to post-partum planning and the promotion of condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections.
Only about 30% of all women use birth control although over half of all African women would like to use birth control if it was available to them. (WHO, 2012) and (Cleland K et al 2011), the most available type of birth control is condom (Alex, Ezeh, and Tom, O. 2004).
    Marriage can be wonderful as well as frustrating depending on the way you plan your marriage: this was the statement of Cecil Osborne (1978) a marriage counselor. This is when one control conception in order that or may produce the number of children which one desire to have at a space. People have little or no regard for family planning and this has resulted to needless large family size, thereby contributing to high increase in population growth.    However the rapid rate of modernization of family planning experienced in many countries has prevailed over traditional methods. These modern methods include the natural planning methods by which couples observe daily signs and symptoms of fertile and infertile phases of menstrual cycle to guide the timing of intercourse, according to their desire to avoid a pregnancy. Other methods includes; the condom, the intra-uterine device (I.U.D) coil, the pill, contraceptive, injections, forming tablets, diaphragms and cervical caps and vasectomy.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
    The introduction of family planning is in the words of Aristotle, the ancient philosopher who explains that civilization would better be achieved by preserving a stationary population in the city state of Greece. He argued for laws that would limit the number of children any family would have. Other philosophers went further to argue for just a child per family.
    Children are gift from God, so controlling birth rate is wrong among the Edo speaking people when a child is named “Omosefe” it indicated that a child is more precious than riches, the equivalent in Ibo is “Nwakaego” and Yoruba equivalent “OmoboriOwo” these are some of the few reason why our fore fathers married many wives. At present some of our fathers still operate on extended family system and the gift from God, so it should not be controlled by man except God.
    Also, children helps in the domestic work and also assist in farm and so the number of children one has will determine how wealthy one is in the society especially the sex differentiation whereby they want their wives to have a lot of male children, so the problem of controlling or spacing birth rate is difficult. The most crucial question now is: Are the people of lkpobaokha Local Government Area of the Edo State fully aware of the usefulness of modern method? This is due to the fact that  attitude of these people might influence the attitudes of these women depending on their level of awareness.
Also, with Africa traditional system i.e. the customs and tradition might influence the attitude of these women towards family planning because in Benin tradition system, it is the man that is the head of the house and his decisions are final. Also if the man is a traditional man either a chief or he believes in his tradition, then having many wives and producing many children is his main objective.
    Environmental influence might influence the attitude because the development of family planning is new in rural area compare to urban centres. The educational background of a couple will determine the attitude of these women because an educated couple would not want to produce a lot of children because they will not have time for them and also a working class woman would want to operate on the methods of family planning. But an illiterate person would have the best time in the world to take care of her child and so the tendency of producing more children is high and they might not know the importance of family planning.
1.3 Research Question
This research tries to find solutions to the following questions.
1.    Are the women in lkpobaokha local government in Edo State aware of family planning methods?
2.    What are the factors influencing the attitude of women towards birth control?
3.    In what ways have the media help families to adopt family planning programmes?
4.    How often does a couple visit family planning counseling centres?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The general objective of this study is to examine the factors that influence the attitude of women towards family planning in lkpobaokha Local Government Area of Edo State.
1.    To examine how well exposed married couples are to the knowledge and practice of modern techniques of family planning.
2.    To find out the factors that influences the attitude of couples toward family planning.
3.    To investigate the ways the media have help families to adopt family planning.
4.    To determine how often couples visit family planning counseling centre.
1.5 Significance of the Study
    The importance of family planning to the individual, family and the society at large cannot be over emphasized as it tends to curb the problems associated with population explosion, economic well-being and psychological development.
    Findings in this study will therefore throw more light on the attitude of women towards the use of family planning methods. It will also help to find out whether the men and women especially in lkpobaokha Local Government Area are adequately aware of modern family planning methods.
    The study will also depict whether couples actually practice family planning methods. If they do, to what extent they are involved. If not, their reasons for not being involved. This study will therefore enable us to identify the ways in which factors such as religion, culture, education and socio-economic factors affect the attitude of womem towards family planning methods.
    Finally, this study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the need to encourage a positive attitude towards family planning in our society, particularly in lkpobaokha local government area of Edo State.
1.6 Definition of Basic Concepts/Terms
Family Planning: this can be defined as the practice of controlling the number of children in family and the intervals between their births particularly by means of artificial contraceptives or voluntary sterilization.
Marriage: According to MerrianWebstar, marriage is the relationship that exist between a husband and a wife a similar relationship between people of the same sex marriage also called matrimony or wedlock is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children and between them and their in laws.
Fertility: Is the natural capability to produce offspring
Conception: The process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization
Abstinence: Is a self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure.
Abortion: The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy
Contraceptives: A device or drug serving to prevent pregnancy.