For Mother and Child: USAID helps mothers shift to more reliable modern family planning methods in the southern Philippines

Twenty-six-year-old Lubaina Zainal gazes out the window of her home in Buluan, Maguindanao, rocking and breastfeeding her eight-month-old baby while her other four children play quietly around her. Lubaina knows the benefits of breast milk for her newborn and that exclusive breastfeeding can be used as a modern family planning method for the first six months of her baby’s life.

“I now know that breastfeeding makes my child healthier, and it can also be used as a family planning method for up to six months,” said Lubaina.

As a result of USAID support, Lubaina understands that family planning can help her take care of her health and her husband and children. The Department of Health and USAID recommend at least three years between births to support the health and wellbeing of the mother, child, and family. After consulting with USAID-trained health care providers, Lubiana learned that exclusive breastfeeding as a family planning method is only effective for up to six months. Lubaina decided to explore other options for reliable, short-term family planning methods.

In February, Lubaina attended a USAID-supported community health outreach activity where she learned about the benefits, efficacy, and side effects of different modern family planning methods. After speaking with a trained healthcare provider, Lubaina and her husband decided to use an injectable contraceptive.

From 2019 to 2021, exclusive breastfeeding was consistently ranked among the most preferred modern family planning methods for postpartum mothers in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. As of June 2021, 54 percent of new acceptors for modern family planning methods used exclusive breastfeeding.

In addition to the benefits of breastfeeding on maternal and child health, it also has economic benefits. Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi are among the poorest provinces in the southern Philippines, with a poverty rate of 53 percent in 2018, more than twice the national average.

Like many other families in the region, Lubaina and her husband find it hard to make ends meet. Her husband works as a fisherman at a nearby lake, earning an average of Php 1,500 ($30) per month. With five children, Lubaina says this salary is not enough for their daily subsistence, and breast milk can ensure better health and nutrition for her baby.

“Breastfeeding helps us save money for our other basic needs and is better than milk formula,” Lubaina said.

The preference for exclusive breastfeeding as a practical means of birth spacing in this region has increased over the years. However, many do not know that exclusive breastfeeding is only effective as a modern family planning method for up to six months. According to the World Health Organization, breastfeeding is only effective as a family planning method if the mother is exclusively breastfeeding, which means that the baby receives no other foods and fluids other than mother’s milk; the mother’s regular menstruation has not returned; and the baby is under six months old.

Prior to the USAID family planning outreach meeting she attended, Lubaina, like many other women in the region, thought that she would not get pregnant for as long as she was breastfeeding, a misconception that may result in unplanned pregnancies.

“I didn’t know that exclusive breastfeeding would only be effective if the three criteria are met,” Lubaina said.

Between July 2019 and June 2021, USAID trained more than 300 health care providers in the region about how to better provide family planning and postpartum family planning services. With this training, healthcare providers can better explain different modern family planning methods to clients, including the advantages, limitations, and complexities of exclusive breastfeeding. USAID also trained health care providers in family planning counseling so they can help clients choose a modern family planning option that suits them.

USAID addresses misconceptions about exclusive breastfeeding as a modern family planning method by promoting dialogue between clients and healthcare providers and deploying mobile family planning clinics. At these mobile clinics, clients can choose to adopt their family planning method of choice on-site. To avoid disruptions in access to family planning service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID worked with Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams to provide these services during community-based COVID-19 surveillance.

Now that she has made the choice to continue breastfeeding and selected injectable contraceptives as her preferred family planning method, Lubaina is committed to helping other mothers make better choices for their health and their babies.

“With the information I learned from USAID, I will help educate my peers about exclusive breastfeeding and the different contraceptive methods that are safe to use while I continue breastfeeding my baby,” she said.