“Babies are Expensive!”

Sokun and Yein lives in the Kraing Skear village in Kampong Chhnang province with their 6-month old baby boy Minea. Sokun is a quiet 28 year old farmer working in the nearby field. Yein is 27 years old and devotes her time caring for baby Minea who is very active and requires much attention. The family of three lives in a simple and well maintained Khmer style house surrounded by rice fields with several neighbors nearby who come to play with baby Minea often.

The couple was first invited to a family planning couple session by the deputy village chief six months ago after the birth of Minea. The session was organized by the Promoting Healthy Behaviors (PHB) Activity, a Social and Behavior Change project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). They stated that although they had discussed and decided to have another child three years after Minea, they did not have sufficient knowledge on modern methods (MM) of family planning and did not feel confident in the effectiveness of MM. At the same time, Yein said that they were also concerned with unplanned pregnancy. “It is expensive and time consuming to raise a child”, said the couple.

At the session Yein and Sokun learned about different MM and detailed information such as effectiveness, possible side effects and common misconceptions. Misconceptions were discussed and dispelled using the “true or false” game during the session. Yein said that the Interpersonal Communication (IPC) agent had visited them at their house four times after the couple’s session and provided them with further information to address their concerns.

The couple stated that after the couple session they discussed the options and decided together that hormone injections every three months is the best MM option for them. However, Yein was concerned that the injections would harm baby Mineak through breastfeeding. This concerned was addressed by the IPC in the follow-up household visits and the couple reported that they are very pleased with the decision they had made with the support from the IPC.

“We were more comfortable to discuss our options after receiving good knowledge from the IPC such as the effectiveness and the benefit of each MM.” said Yein. Furthermore, when asked how the project has impacted on the family, the couple replied that they became aware of the importance of having sufficient resources to care for Mineak and MM of family planning is the tool to ensure just that. The couple believes that MM is very important and that every couple should know about it as it helps to maintain quality of life and the capacity to provide better care for their children.

fpparticipant

Me and my husband were concerned with unplanned pregnancy because it is expensive and time consuming to raise children. Learning about modern methods and family planning helps a lot. Modern Methods of family planning helps us to have more time and more resources to care for our 6-month old baby Minea.