POOR MOTHERS AND HIGH BIRTH RATE

The reason why poor people have more children when they cannot afford to raise them is a complex socio-economic question. Majority of the world’s poor live in the rural areas with women being the most affected and it is mostly in the rural areas that women give birth to the highest number of children. It seems that although being unable to take care of these children, poor parents continue to expand their families. With scarce income and lots of struggling, poor women still have large families. Some of the reasons why the poor have large families cut across lack of information, economic, religion, limited access to education, lack of access to health services, high child mortality rates, early marriage, need for extra labor as well as cultural factors. 

     To start with, limited access to education is a cause of poor women having many children. This is because they are not aware of the whole concept of child birth. Women with formal education are more likely than uneducated women to make informed decisions because they are aware and are likely to marry later and thus have fewer children.       

    Secondly, lack of access to health services. In health facilities, women are taught, sensitized, informed and advised on how to go about with their sexual reproductive health. They are introduced to different types of contraceptives, schooled on family planning and allowed to make informed decisions. But because these poor women cannot access health services either because of no facility or poverty, they cannot receive all the immersed benefits thereof. The immediate consequence is many more children.

    Thirdly, high child mortality rate. Poor parent’s notion of having so many children because sometimes these children do not survive is another reason. In some African countries, majority of the children die before reaching their fifth birthday. This is either because of no money to provide basic necessity for them and properly take care of them. Parents will turn to have many children to compensate for the lost ones.

    Furthermore, early marriage is another cause for so many children in poor families. This is a socio-cultural aspect. Poverty being the reason for families to send their girl child into early marriage. These girls because often than not are very young start giving birth early and before they get old, they have so many children.  

    One of the central issue that cut across almost all the factors is linked with poverty. Poverty serves as a root cause for many reasons resulting in poor women having many children, yet unable to carter for their basic needs. When women are empowered socially, economically and politically, they tackle the issue of poverty and a whole lot of other issues can be resolved.

MAAGBOR WELISANE