The Blog

What About Birth Control?

I am often asked how the women in HFF programs feel about birth control.

Many people are under the impression that women in Haiti do not take the proper precautions to avoid unwanted pregnancy. The truth is that most often these women don’t know they have options or where to turn.

HFF is proud to work together with them to offer options and provide support.

It is an unfortunate truth that many women in Haiti do not have access to basic medical care. A doctor visit may be a day trip away, and can cost as much as a weeks worth of earned wages.

They do not have the luxury of seeing a doctor regularly for check ups, and wellness exams.

One of the first questions that we ask a woman who comes to us in desperate need is what her ‘family planning’ plan looks like.

Most women are excited to learn that there is an option to receive a shot that can prevent pregnancy for up to 3 months, and an implant that works for 5 years.

Some women are afraid of these methods, they have heard horror stories of medical procedures gone wrong, or have even been taught that birth control is not ‘good’.

Our job is to educate these women about their options.

When a woman chooses to receive the shot, we help her to coordinate her doctor visits around her busy schedule—working in the fields or in the market, getting her children off to school and picking them up—and to plan her mode of transportation to be sure that she makes it to each appointment.

An HFF employee follows up with each woman regularly to be sure that she is feeling healthy, and confident in her decision.

The need is different for every family, but in every case, each parent simply wants what is best for her child and her family.

We work hard to make sure that each mother is comfortable with the decisions that she is making to take the best care of her family possible.