Sindh Population Welfare Department would educate newly wedded rural couples on a wide range of family planning facilities and techniques.
Sindh Secretary for Population Welfare Mohammad Saleem Raza addressing participants of a seminar titled “Postpartum IUCD Insertion,” said that there was urgent need to reduce the rate of population growth in the country through pragmatic approaches. He said that social factors could not be a hindrance in population control if respective couple were educated about the benefits of small families in the 21st century. He said that provincial population welfare department was operating offices at all central and peripherial areas of the province. Saleem Raza said that
“we now plan to make our services more updated with equal attention towards attitudinal and behavioral changes among our staff including doctors and midwives towards women in need.”
Raza said that a modified approach was extremely important as the department could not achieve desired results in social isolation. He urged the gynecologists to promote insertion of intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) to avoid pregnancies. He also advocated promotion of contraceptive techniques, and said that high incidences of maternal mortality rates of (276 per 100,000) in Pakistan and (314 per 100,000 in Sindh were shameful.
Provincial secretary for population welfare said that maternal deaths could be controlled through mandating presence of trained birth attendants or midwives in all healthcare facilities of the province. She said that “healthy time spacing practices are only possible if three years of spacing is practiced”.
Dr. Azra Ahsan and Prof. Shireen Bhutta, lady doctors and midwives hailing from various health facilities of the province were in atttendence.