Arid north’s women lead in childbirth
FILE | NATION It is joyful for expectant women to leave hospital holding their newborns after successful delivery. On average, a North Eastern Province woman would have six children during her reproductive period, compared to three for the one who lives in Nairobi.
By SAMUEL SIRINGI ssiring@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, July 10 2012 at 21:27
Posted Tuesday, July 10 2012 at 21:27
Married women in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid north are the most active in child bearing, beating all other regions, including some that are much better endowed with economic and natural resources.
During their child bearing age of between 15 and 49 years, the women give birth to twice the number of children as their counterparts in Nairobi, according to current government statistics.
On average, a North Eastern Province woman would have six children during her reproductive period, compared to three for the one who lives in Nairobi.
Population Day
According to statistics contained in a presentation by National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) ahead of the World Population Day on Wednesday, women in Coast also have, on average, three children in their reproductive period while those of Eastern Province have four.
“Children are a blessing, but we should have a number we can care for,” said Mr George Kichamu, deputy director in charge of Public Education at the council. “There is no right or wrong number (of children), it depends on the choice of the woman or couple.”
Mr Kichamu said most pregnancies in Kenya were unwanted, with many women choosing to delay their next births, but lacking the necessary family planning method to help them. “The best scenario is where our people would have capacity to prevent unwanted pregnancies,” Mr Kichamu said.
The areas where women, on average, give birth to many children in their lifetime contributes significantly to Kenya’s rapid population growth rate, currently increasing by 2.9 per cent per year.
This translates to an addition of one million people every year into the country’s population, which stood at 38.6 million people in 2009 when the last census was conducted.
Nationally, women are preferring to have an average of 4.6 children in their reproductive period. The high fertility rates in northern Kenya appear to largely due to the fact that the region’s women seldom use contraceptives including condoms, pills of injections.
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), only four in every 100 women are using contraceptives in the region. It means a large number of women are engaging in sex without the means of preventing pregnancy for those who do not wish to conceive.
The low levels of contraceptive prevalence in the north is a stark contrast to that of Central Province, where the prevalence rate among married women is 67 per cent. This largely explains the low fertility rates in Central Province.
However, there are other reasons that influence fertility and contraceptive prevalence rates including region of residence, religion and education. “Contraceptive use increases dramatically with increasing level of education,” says the KDHS report.
Mr Kichamu said some regions with strong African cultural practices that stress large families or child preference are also likely to record higher fertility rates.
Last November, Nithi constituency MP Kareke Mbiuki started a campaign to offer his female constituents incentive to get pregnant and give birth. He promised every woman who gives birth over the next one year Sh5,000.
They would also receive a pack of diapers in a move aimed at boosting the population of the area. Mr Mbiuki said population in the area was dwindling, and urgent measures were necessary to encourage fertility.
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