An opportunity that came up right before I left and on which there was some actual movement during the past few weeks has to do with family planning. Had a fascinating meeting yesterday with some colleagues who run health clinics and community health services to talk about what we're going to propose and why. Among other things, I learned that injectable contraceptives are more popular in Pakistan than in most other places -- they're expensive and have to be re-upped every three months, so not exactly a convenient option -- because they're basically undetectable. You get a little pinprick from the shot but otherwise there's no way for a husband or mother-in-law to know that you've chosen to be unable to get pregnant.
Negative attitudes toward family planning and women's choice are the main reason FP in Pakistan sucks so much. Contraceptive use is low, fertility is high, there are around a million illegal abortions in the country each year (holy shit). In snooping around the internet today to learn more, I came across a study that found MTV's teen pregnancy shows contributed to a 5+% drop in the teen pregnancy rate in the US a few years ago. That is amazing. Idea for a show on Pakistani TV: a series on couples including young brides who get pregnant and then have a hard time with it, men and women both.
Negative attitudes toward family planning and women's choice are the main reason FP in Pakistan sucks so much. Contraceptive use is low, fertility is high, there are around a million illegal abortions in the country each year (holy shit). In snooping around the internet today to learn more, I came across a study that found MTV's teen pregnancy shows contributed to a 5+% drop in the teen pregnancy rate in the US a few years ago. That is amazing. Idea for a show on Pakistani TV: a series on couples including young brides who get pregnant and then have a hard time with it, men and women both.
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