98% of women said to get pregnant by accident

Mr Kris Ozar, the Country Representative of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Ghana has disclosed that about 98 per cent of women between the ages of 15 to 49 get pregnant by accident.

He said lack of inadequate support from husbands and also perceived fear of the side effects associated with the use of modern contraception had been some of the causes of the unplanned pregnancies.

Mr Ozar disclosed this during a dissemination workshop on strengthening Marriages and Relationships through Planning and Communications (SMART) couple and Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) project in Tamale.

The event, which was organised by CRS and the Ghana Health Service, was to share the results of the pilot phase of the SMART project with key stakeholders.

The SMART project implemented in West Mamprusi in the Northern Region and the Nabdam District in the Upper East Region was to train couples on better ways to communicate and to adopt joint decision making on family planning.

Mr Ozar stated that about 50 per cent of girls from the Sub-Saharan Africa countries marry and start child bearing during their adolescent ages with least resources and no decision-making power in the household, which affect the family well-being.

Mr Andrews Asamoah, Project Manager for SMART Couples, said couples who adopted the new behaviours and communication techniques were better and able to plan to improve on their health and well-being of their entire family.

He said the SMART Couples project had helped the young couples and demonstrated the highest improvements in gender relations and dynamics, male involvement in child health, birth-spacing and joined in health decision-making. 

Catholic Relief Services is a humanitarian aid organization, which helps the poor and vulnerable by responding to major emergencies and also helps to fight hunger and disease.

Source: GNA