Contraception

One Lao man told the project officer, "I have six children, one for every year before FPA's project. If I had known about this I would only have three! Why didn't you come to work with us earlier?"

Contraception now?

For the last few decades, those of us working to gain acceptance for contraception in developing countries have been told by politicians and economists that one has to wait for a country to become prosperous before birth control can be introduced. The inference was that birth control is destabilising to male-dominated cultures.

Not yet, dear

In the western world since the fourteenth century, when medicine was made a profession demanding university qualifications, men have been making decisions about women's childbearing. The decisions have meant that women have borne many children, often yearly, and have been subject to the health hazards of many pregnancies. Women's other contributions to society until the twentieth century were limited by repeated childbearing, though a few had some access to business ventures, wrote poetry or plays.

Women's plans

Now, in Laos for example, women would like no more than four children. One had eight by the age of twenty-four, and many have five by their mid-twenties, with years of fertility ahead, if they can stay healthy. The risk of men contacting AIDS by going to prostitutes has been considerable, but with contraception the men are happier, saying their women are more healthy and attractive. Communities are prospering now that women supplement the income by selling chickens, cabbages or silk fabrics.

Advances

Contraceptive choice varies from culture to culture. Overseas aid and development organizations are sensitive to differences, and provides education in many dialects and a range of appropriate methods. More research is always needed to continue advances in medical technology and cultural understanding.

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