Campaign to stop unplanned pregnancy in Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: The high number of abandoned babies in Sabah has prompted the Sabah Family Planning Association to organise community projects and talks/ forums to campaign Stop! Unplanned Pregnancy.
One of the activities the association is organising is its second annual Fun Run which will be held at Taman Awam Teluk Likas at 7am on October 21.
Its state manager, Cecilia Chong, said registration for the run is still ongoing and it is in line with World Contraception Day on September 26.
Global data shows 41 per cent of pregnancies were reported unplanned. An online source had reported Dato’ Sri Hajjah Rohani Abdul Karim, the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development, stating there were 697 babies reported abandoned in Malaysia over a period of six years from 2010 to 2016 at an increasing trend. Sabah and Johor ranked the second highest with 84 babies found abandoned, after Selangor.
According to the association in a statement yesterday, the reasons for unplanned pregnancies were related to substantial unmet needs for family planning services where poverty, compromised education and nonuse/incorrect or method failure in contraceptive use.
Socio-economy, social media and taboo perceptions are pre-conditions in the rising incidences of unplanned pregnancies. These incidences are becoming a burden not only to the mothers, but also to the child, family and society, resulting in poverty, malnutrition, lack of sanitation and education among others.
A single mother with child from unplanned pregnancy is likely to be burdened with financial constraint due to the unplanned escalated cost of living with a child; made worse should the single mother be a teenager or struggling young parent.
Multiple research has shown strong correlation between younger age group, education and poverty with unplanned pregnancy. Increasing age with lower educational level, increasing number of sexual partners and younger reported age at sexual debut were also associated with unplanned pregnancy. Preventing unplanned pregnancies have been shown to decrease the rate of maternal deaths as well as infant deaths, thus, saving both women and child.
Aside from unplanned pregnancy, unprotected sex also significantly linked to Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Highest population age group contracting STDs are among 15 to 24 years old, which can constitute a significant impact in healthcare costs and socio economic decline nationwide.
“Therefore it is crucial, as a nation, we seek to re-define the priorities of unplanned pregnancy towards prevention,” said Cecilia.
She said one of the initiatives to reduce incidence of unplanned pregnancy is to engage young people and the public through education related activities on pregnancy prevention informations and the use of contraceptives.
“Social support systems are seen to be a powerful means of educating oneself on health matters. A lot of information, knowledge and access can be achieved through community events,” she said.
The Sabah Family Planning Association will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year on November 4.