A medical expert and religious leader have advised that lack of adequate planning for childbearing could be responsible for unnecessary financial burden on families and society.

The Secretary of Association of Resident Doctors (UMTH Chapter) in Maiduguri, Dr Abubakar Ngubdo stressed that Borno state has a high rate of maternal and neo-natal mortality due to economic hardship and insurgency crisis faced by families.

Dr Abubakar who is an Obstetrics and Gynaecologist maintained that if necessary measures are put in place by families, it would improve overall healthcare of women, newborns, and help to reduce the number of preventable deaths.

“Like I said, looking at indices ,Borno state has very high maternal and neo-natal mortality, and what is responsible for this, is because, the state has been hit by insurgency, in addition to the current economic hardship which has affected the purchase power of families.

” So child spacing is a very important factor to families. Ideally before a woman gets pregnant, that child should be properly planned in terms of health wise, and economic wise. It is very important for families to prepare and plan . This will reduce the economic burden on the family.

“We all know the expenses that come with a child birth in our society from maternity to baby kits to drugs to hospital expenses, and naming ceremony so all these expenses can be an additional burden and with this harsh economy, it is safe to prepare and plan before embarking on it,”he advised.

Also, State Chairman JIBWIS, Alhaji Goni Abdu who spoke on intersection of culture, religion and child birth spacing in Borno which was organized by the Challenge Initiatives (TCi) held in Maiduguri yesterday ,  noted that Islam gave clear instructions that husbands should be able to provide foods, shelter, clothes and others to their families.

“There is no clear prohibition in Sharia and Hadith that stop somebody  from spacing childbirth and planning his family, in fact it is even a welcome ideal, this is because as husband or household you have responsibility of taking care of your family, and that’s why the holy book say you should marry if you have the means. So I don’t think we have the ground in Hadith or Quran that say you should not plan your family.

“So as a religious leader, it is very important to plan your family and cater for them through your means of livelihood in accordance with what you have, you can’t give what you don’t have, because it will bring burden to you,”Goni noted.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the State Lead TCi, Dr Yusuf Ahmad during a round table meeting with Child Birth Spacing Stakeholders in Maiduguri on Wednesday said that the aimed of the meeting was to discuss issues around CBS and to explore effective communications tools that would suit the cultural and religious of the people.