Effective family planning reduces maternal mortality rate by 30 percent- Expert

TRACKING______A family planning expert, Dr Taiwo Johnson, has canvassed for the involvement of men in the family planning to reduce maternal mortality among women in Nigeria.

Johnson who is also Director, Post Pregnancy Family Planning project (PPFP) stated this on Saturday during an interaction with journalists in Lagos.

She said apart from the fact that family planning reduces maternal mortality rate among women by 30 percent, it also plays an important role in nation building.

The expert impressed on men to encourage their wives to adopt family planning method suitable for them soon after delivery, saying a woman could get pregnant even when she is breastfeeding if adequate caution is not taken.

According to her, “For breastfeeding to be an effective family planning method, a woman must ensure that her menstrual period has not returned after delivery and also ensure that the baby put to breast on demand excluding water and food supplement.”

She stated that PPFP has plan to cover 240 private health facilities in Lagos State before the expiration of the project and currently has presence in 193 private health facilities across 19 local government areas in the state.

She opined that Lagos State government needs to work more with private health facilities if the state would attain its goal in achieving quality health for citizens.