Senior doctor dispels fears over birth control pills

The Director-General for Central Equatoria State Ministry of Health, Dr Gamal Eldin Hassan said using birth control pills does not affect fertility.

Dr Hassan dismissed fears over birth control, saying family planning would only help to prevent pregnancy.

“In Juba, we are met with resistance; there is misinformation and rumours about family planning. There are so many rumours that people may not give birth, and people will end up infertile,” Dr Hassan told journalists on Friday in Juba.

Dr Hassan said birth control helps improve children’s health and wellbeing.

“If you got one child it’s far better than to get five children because you have to educate them, treat them and all these,” Hassan said.

“You have to give birth but you have to space your children and now people are getting that meaning.”

The doctor also dispelled rumours that family planning can cause infertility in women.

“This is a wrong concept and we have to correct this concept and you have the role as people in the media to disseminate the right information about reproductive health,” he said.

He said that birth control pills do not have side effects on a person’s ability to get pregnant.

“All these family planning methods are recognized by the Ministry of Health and we are not the ones in Reproductive Health Association bringing these,” he said.

Paul Yoane Bonju, outgoing chair of the Reproductive Health Association said people are mostly sceptical when it comes to family planning.

“When you talk about family planning and reproductive health, people are always very sceptical but we are not telling them don’t produce, we are saying just space,” Bonju said.

“You can produce the number you want but space them because if you space them then the children will be healthy,” Bonju added.