Expert advises couples to plan pregnancies

A Benin-based pediatrician, Dr Victoria Osamuyi, has advised couples to go for family planning to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

Osamuyi gave the advice in an interview with the Newsmen on Wednesday in Benin.

Family planning allows people to attain their desired number of children, and to determine the spacing of pregnancies. It is achieved through the use of contraceptive methods and the treatment of infertility.

According to her, every couple or individual is at liberty to choose the number of children they want to have and the freedom to decide the timing and spacing of pregnancies.

She said “family planning allows couples and individuals to protect themselves and their family’s wellbeing in significant ways.

“It helps to protect women from any health risks that may occur before, during or after childbirth.

“This is because women who bear more than four children are at increased risk of maternal mortality, so they need to plan the birth of their children.”

She maintained that women who got pregnant after the age of 35 were vulnerable to health risks; hence they should be protected through careful planning as well.

Osamuyi noted that Family planning helped to protect women from any health risks that may occur before, during or after childbirth.