Faith & Facts: Family Planning for Christians

1. Faith & Facts: Family Planning for Christians

2. State of Maternal Health • Every day, nearly 1,000 women die due to pregnancy-related causes. • 99 percent of all maternal deaths occur in the developing world. • What can Christians do? Source: World Health Organization

3. Dangerous Birth Spacing • Multiple studies have shown that closely spaced births increase health risks for mothers, babies, and children. Source: US Agency for International Development ESD Project

4. Dangerous Birth Spacing • When a pregnancy occurs 6 months or less following a birth: • The risk of miscarriage for the mother increases by 230%. • The risk of death of the mother within 42 days (known as maternal death) increases by 150%. Source: US Agency for International Development ESD Project

5. Dangerous Birth Spacing • When a pregnancy occurs 6 months or less following a birth: • The risk of death within the first 9 months for the infant increases by 170%. • The risk of preterm birth increases by 70%. • The risk the baby will be stillborn increases by 60%. • The risk of low birth weight for the baby increases by 60%. Source: US Agency for International Development ESD Project

6. Dangerous Birth Spacing • A child in the developing world has an even greater risk of dying if the mother dies, or he or she has siblings very close in age. Source: World Health Organization

7. Healthy Birth Spacing • There is something we can do. Family planning methods can help a woman safely space and plan her pregnancies with her husband for optimal health for herself and her children.

8. Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy Lowers Infant Mortality

9. Unintended Pregnancies and Abortion • One-fifth of all pregnancies worldwide end in abortion. That’s 42 million abortions each year. Many of these abortions are illegal and unsafe. • Out of 4.7 million abortions that occur in Africa each year, 4.5 million of these are performed by people lacking the necessary skills and in environments without minimal medical standards. • 67,000 women die each year worldwide from unsafe abortions. Source: Population Reference Bureau

10. Abortion Is Reduced When Use of Modern Contraceptives Increases

11. Family Planning Reduces Abortions “The evidence is overwhelming that contraception prevents abortion. And this is what we all want most of all.” • W. Henry Mosley, MD, MPH Professor Emeritus, Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

12. Family Planning Saves Lives • It is estimated that up to 100,000 pregnancy-related deaths occurring among women who had unintended pregnancies could be avoided each year with proper family planning. Source: US Agency for International Development

13. Christian Connections for International Health • Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH) consists of people and organizations from protestant, Catholic, evangelical, and mainline denominations, who are all dedicated to a vision of a world where all have access to basic health services.

14. Christians and Family Planning • A 2008 survey revealed that all CCIH member organizations support family planning where it is understood to mean voluntary prevention of pregnancy, not including abortion. CCIH does not endorse particular family planning methods and its members strive to offer services consistent with the faith of the families they serve. • CCIH members integrate family planning into other health services, as they recognize it reduces abortion and improves the health of women, children, families, and entire communities.

15. What Are Christians Doing to Save Mothers and Children? • Faith-based organizations provide much of the health care in many areas of the developing world. • In Africa, Christian Health Association members provide 30 to 50% of the care in their countries. • Most Christian Health Association members provide family planning services and offer methods consistent with the faith and needs of the families they serve.

16. Concerns of Christians Working to Save Mothers and Children • An estimated 200 million couples would like to delay or stop childbearing but are not using any form of family planning. • Many faith-based clinics face severe shortages and frequent stock-outs of supplies. They need our help to reduce abortions, help families grow at a rate they can afford, and protect the health of women, children, families, and entire communities. Sources: World Health Organization and CCIH

17. How Can We Help Christians Save Mothers and Children? • Enable Christian organizations to provide health care and family planning services consistent with the faith of the families they serve. • Visit www.ccih.org to learn more in the Knowledge Bank (resources/knowledgebank) and find out how you can support CCIH and our members.

18. How Can We Help Christians Save Mothers and Children? • To learn what you can do to help Christians continue to assist families in safely spacing births to save the lives of mothers and children and grow at a rate they can afford, visit CCIH’s web site at www.ccih.org for links to how to send a message to your local newspaper and to your Representatives in Congress. Together we can make a difference.