The experts advised that besides being conscious of weight gain, women who are worried about using hormonal methods should try other family planning methods.
They noted that family planning and fertility education are critical to achieving sustainable development and a secure environment.

According to them, lack of family planning and poor access to fertility education contributed to the current security challenges facing the country.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise, the President, Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria, Dr. Habib Sadauki, said women experiencing weight gain while on contraceptives should be active and control their diets.

The consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist also urged them to try other methods like the Intrauterine device, noting that it does not cause weight gain.
He said, “Weight gain while using some of these methods can be put under check by controlling your diet and watching what you eat. If you do that, the weight gain would not be that much.

“It is not everybody that uses hormonal methods that gain weight. You should be active and engage in regular exercises. But by and large, it is suspected that because they are hormones and are linked to metabolism, they can cause weight gain. Those having issues with weight gain can use the IUD method.”
On the issue of heavy menstrual bleeding occasioned by the use of contraceptives, the gynaecologist said it might occur when a woman starts using any of the hormonal-based contraceptives for the first time, but that it would later be resolved after repeated use.

In the same vein, a family planning expert and member of the Public Health Sustainable Advocacy Initiative, Mrs. Abiola Adekoya told PUNCH Healthwise that the reason why women gain weight while using any of the family planning methods was due to the peace of mind they have, especially when they no longer have issues bothering on sex with their husbands.
“When women don’t have problems with their husbands, they are more likely to gain weight. Some women use family planning and their shape remains the same.

“Those that are complaining of weight gain while on the injectable should embark on exercise and if the weight gain continues, they should switch to other methods of family planning. Weight gain has to do with their body type,” she said.
Adekoya said proper planning and spacing of children would enable parents to instil morals, provide quality education and nutrition, as well as improve chances of survival and reduce illnesses and burden on health facilities.

“Lack of family planning is a great contributor to insecurity in the country. You should space the number of children you want, the time you plan to have them, and the family size you can take care of.

“This is in terms of nutrition, moral upbringing, education, and quality care so that we have children that are raised to be productive, well mentored, and can contribute to national development.
“If you have so many, you might not be able to cater for them. So, this is where family planning comes in to regulate fertility.
“When you regulate fertility, you will have children that can contribute to national development because they are well guided.
“If we are not able to do this, we might end up in catastrophe because you have children that are not educated and have no access to quality education, both formal and spiritual.
“This makes them think irrationally and without work, yet they have to cater for themselves. So they begin to look for various means of survival and this can lead to the insecurity that we are witnessing in Nigeria,” she said.

According to estimates from the National Bureau of Statistics released in 2021, 12 per cent of women in Nigeria used modern contraceptive methods.
The NBS report noted that over 83 per cent of women in Nigeria were not using any contraceptive methods for pregnancy prevention in 2018.
Currently, the Nigerian government has a target of achieving a modern contraceptive rate of 27 per cent among all women by 2024.

The current population of Nigeria is 218 million based on projections of the latest United Nations data, with the country still the largest population in Africa.
The UN projects that the overall population of Nigeria will reach about 401.31 million by the end of the year 2050.
“By 2100, if current figures continue, the population of Nigeria will be over 728 million,” it added.

Source: HealthWise