day Family Planning Conference and Workshop held at the King Abdulaziz Hospital and Oncology Center recommended that the Ministry of Health make methods of contraception available by putting appropriate contraceptive materials on the shelves of every hospital pharmacy. The conference this week, which discussed a number of issues related to pregnancy, highlighted the difference between family planning and birth control. In that regard, Dr. Mohammed Ali Al-Bar, a renowned Islamic researcher, pointed out that Islam rejects birth prevention or limitation, but allows planning for the sake of the mother's and the baby's health. “Birth control is like what is happening in some countries where governments restrict couples from having more that two children. This is not permissible in Islam,” Al-Bar said. “On the contrary, family planning is the couple's own choice. They can choose to leave a space between the birth of their children in order to give the mother the chance to restore her health and to give the infant its full right of care and breastfeeding. This should only happen on a temporarily base with permissible methods,” he added. Dr. Aisha Tarabay, a conference organizer and chief of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at KAA Hospital and Oncology Center, told Saudi Gazette that the conference was meant to increase awareness of the importance of family planning. “We want to encourage women to become better informed on the right way to practice family planning so as to safeguard their health,” she said. Tarabay added that family planning mainly aims at educating women about their health which will also have an impact on the health of their children. “If a woman's health is good as a result of good nutrition and awareness of health matters, it will definitely have a positive effect on the health of her children,” she said. Tarabay added that each couple has the right to decide what contraceptive method to use. “All international human rights documents preserve the parents' right to choose their own method of contraception to prevent pregnancy,” she added. “Couples have the right to freely decide the period of time they prefer between pregnancies. Also, all pertinent information and contraceptive methods should be made available to them,” Tarabay said. She added that the conference was a good chance to correct some ideas in the minds of both family medicine doctors and family members. Married couples, according to Tarabay, should be given full information about contraception methods that suit them. “One method does not suit all couples. Doctors, therefore, should explain to couples the methods that are appropriate according to the mother's general health. Doctors must also make clear all the side effects that are possible with the use of a particular method. It is only then that the husband and wife can decide which method to use,” Tarabay said.
