SOME women in Mbeya District Council are reportedly abandoning family planning methods due to the myth that the methods are harmful to them and their children.

Nitike Kyejo, the Maternal and Child Health Coordinator in the District Council, shared the information over the weekend during a family planning assessment report.

The evaluation meeting brought together health officials from various councils in Mbeya, maternal and child healthcare providers, and heads of health departments in the region.

The objective was to learn from the experiences of maternal and child health coordinators from Chamwino District in Dodoma, who have significantly increased family planning usage from 22 percent to 92 percent.

Nitike explained that some women fear that using these methods may lead to infertility, prompting them to abandon family planning altogether. This impacts their ability to effectively plan their families.

"Others believe that using an intrauterine device (IUD) will result in babies being born with the IUD, and these misconceptions have hindered the adoption of family planning methods in our areas," she said.

She emphasized ongoing efforts to educate the public through various channels to dispel these myths that contribute to poor family planning, adding: “We use media to reach people in their communities, even visiting farms where they work.”

Waziri Njau, JHPIEGO Coordinator stated that they are committed to providing proper education to eliminate such misconceptions.

He mentioned that they are connecting maternal and child health coordinators with other health stakeholders to strengthen services nationwide.

Njau reiterated the importance of family planning services for spacing children within families and assured that they will continue collaborating to achieve this goal.