Blog 11: South Sudan Women Choose Family Planning, Longer Lives

South Sudan Women Choose Family Planning, Longer Lives

In Juba, of South Sudan there is a lack of basic health and education, early marriage, and a culture that values big families have led to an alarming child mortality rate. They are also given the poverty-stricken nation the highest maternal mortality rate in the world.  Now women are dangling babies on their laps and shushing other to be able to listen with attention to a health worker explaining various methods of birth control.  This has become a miracle to South Sudan where the average women has seven children.  South Sudan finally has been building a health service from scratch with the help of international aid agencies.  Early pregnancy in South Korea has become a problem so that is why birth control is needed.  A mother of three kids explains that “we need to have the gaps to have that happy family.” After a tough year of explaining that birth control is beneficial, now more women are using it.  Affording many kids with their salaries is also hard. 

I know that some cultures and religions don’t accept birth control as easily as others. However, they are not in the best living situation to be having a lot of kids. If the child mortality rate is so high then we should be trying to reduce the amount of pregnancies, if you have a lot of kids you aren’t going to be able to afford much to have food on the table for your kids.   So you should think about if you can barely afford food for your kids can you afford food for yourself, if you are pregnant you are going to have to for that baby.  It is sad that not everyone in this world has health care but I believe if you have it you should take advantage and use it. If they can provide you birth control so the mortality rate of children goes down, use it.  Let's all try to have a healthy family!

http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-women-choose-family-planning-longer-lives/1541917.html