Study Reveals Inconsistencies In Condom Use
Pini Bothoko | Monday December 12, 2016 18:00
Dr Janet Mwambona, a Family Planning and Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme officer at Centre for Disease Control and Prevention under President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), said this when presenting the family planning and PMTCT progress and challenges in Botswana at the seminar on new directions in global health that was held at Marang Hotel.
She said 50% of women who register for antenatal care always say that they did not plan for their babies.
She said they have also discovered that most men are not involved in family planning.
Mwambona said during pregnancy, it is shocking that some women do not even know the father, another indicator of unplanned pregnancies.
She said there are high rates of unintended pregnancies at 51-84% in women living with HIV/AIDS.
According to the 2011 Botswana Antenatal clinic sentinel surveillance, unplanned pregnancy is higher among women aged between 15-19 years at 24% followed by women aged between 20-24 years at nine percent.
The study shows that single women who had unplanned pregnancy were at 14% with nine percent of cohabiting women, unemployed women or temporarily employed at five percent.
She said among known HIV positive women, unplanned pregnancies were lower at 10% and cautioned against the trend, as it is risky for both mother and baby and that HIV positive women have eight times risk of a pregnancy related death.
Mwambona said that there is a growing concern regarding the increasing rate of teenage pregnancies leading to school dropouts in greater Francistown, which drastically limited their future opportunities
She said from April to September, greater Francistown recorded 551 cases of teenage pregnancy of which 323 cases were recorded in the city and 228 in Tonota and surrounding areas amongst girls aged 15-19 years. Moreover three cases of teenage pregnancy amongst girls’ aged 15 and below were recorded. She said the consistent condom use among HIV positive women has been shown to be low despite condom being the most used method for pregnancy prevention by women and couples.
Mwambona said family planning programme in Botswana has always advocated that couples should look at their socio-economic circumstances and their preferences to determine how many children to have.
On a positive note, Mwambona said PMTCT has reduced deaths among HIV exposed infants in the first year of their lives ever since it was introduced back in 2000. She stated that studies have shown that adding family planning to PMTCT services would cut in half the cost of each HIV infection.
Mwambona said PEPFAR promotes family planning and HIV integration within multiple PEPFAR supported platforms including PMTCT, care and treatment, services for key populations, expanding contraceptive options mix for adolescent girls and young women.