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Vandy and Souphan had lived traditional
lives in the village of Phon Thong in Saravane province in southern
Laos . They worked in the fields, married early and were soon worn
down by repeated pregnancies. “We never plan,” one of their neighbours
explained. “Babies just come.” This prospect troubled Vandy, who
was the mother of six children by the time she reached her early
20s. Her older sister Souphan, now in her early 40s, has an especially
difficult life. When her husband fell sick years ago with tuberculosis,
Souphan, already the mother of seven, was forced to take on all
the heavy farm labour. Three days after delivering a child she would
have to return to work, and she feared that more pregnancies would
sap her remaining strength and jeopardize the family's livelihood.
Six years ago, life changed when Vandy struck
up a conversation with a development team installing a pump in the
village. Somehow the subject turned to children and Vandy learned
for the first time about modern ways to prevent pregnancies. She
set out for the government clinic with her husband, who was sympathetic.
Vandy was lucky. Many husbands in rural Laos refuse to condone such
a radical step as birth control.
Little more than a decade ago, the government
of Laos was supporting large families and rapid population growth.
Over the last half of the 20 th century, Laos lost nearly a third
of its population to wars and the flight of refugees. Even today,
it is not unusual to meet mothers of a dozen or more children. The
daily burdens of life fall heavily on women. “We women are poor,”
Vandy said. “With too many children, we can't go anywhere to sell
things.”
Vandy and Souphan, the pioneers in a village
of 57 households, have been on injectable contraceptives for more
than five years. They had choices. Laos permits intra-uterine devices
and contraceptive pills as well as injections and condoms, and some
sterilisation is now available, though restricted. The sisters tried
pills at first but gave up because of side effects, a common complaint
when there has been little or no counseling or information available
on what initial reactions to expect.
In the ethnic Katang community where no
one has secrets, the injections were widely discussed and condemned
as a reckless move. Now, however, 20 other women have followed their
example. “Since we have had the injections, we both feel healthy,”
Vandy said, with a radiant smile. Her youngest child is now six,
and her life has been completely turned around, she said. She and
Souphan have been able to send their children to school, except
for Souphan's boys, who are expected to do the farm work their invalid
father can no longer do.
Vandy isn't shy about an added bonus contraception
has brought. Freed of the fear of more pregnancies, the couple,
always close, has a happy marital life, she said.
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