By Muhammad Maitela, Damaturu
In the awareness creation, sensitization, health talks during Ante Natal Care in health facilities across communities in Yobe state were identified as strategies used in encouraging women to accept the use of child birth spacing services to improve their health and that of their children.
This was the findings by the Yobe Media Team for Family planning during their field trip to Dikumari and Ngelzarma primary health care centers in Damaturu and Fune local government areas of the state.
While interacting with 22 year old Hafsat Yakubu, a mother of six, and resident of Dikumari a settlement in the outskirts of Damaturu metropolis, said she embraced child birth spacing three years ago and initially she was entertaining fear about it because of the various misconceptions surrounding it which is more pronounced in the rural areas.
The narrative is similar to that of Habiba Usman,.a 25 year old mother of three who embraced the practice inorder to give room for proper care and upbringing of her children.
The Facility in In charge of, Dikumari primary health care center Falmata Muhammad said child birth spacing has been accepted among the urban and semi urban women including many from the rural areas as they recorded seventy and above number of women from the thirteen rural catchment areas every month accessing child birth spacing services.
She attributed that, the success story to the continues sensitization and health talks to the women during ante Natal Care, adding that more women are coming to seek for counselling on the various family planning methods available to access.
At Ngelzarma primary health care center in Fune LGA which a distance of 35 kilometers away from Damaturu the Yobe state capital, the Yobe FP Media Team had a lively session with the health personnel and women who came for their ANC including those coming for child birth spacing services with 35 year old Kellugana Bulaji mother of six confirming the benefits of of the practice which she embraced some five years ago.
She said having many children with poor or undefined source of income from both spouses is a challenge to families especially in the present hardship been experience in the country. All the women confirmed that their husbands are supportive and therefore they didn’t encounter challenges accepting the practice.
The personnel in charge of Ngelzarma primary health care center, Ahmed Isah and a Community Health Worker in the facility Harira Isa Usman said the regular campaign for women to key into the practice and community outreach carried out by health personnel has played a major role in encouraging women to accept it.
The health personnel commended the Yobe state government and some NGOs for for regular supply of Child birth spacing commodities which are given free of charge to the women.
