The wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has urged women to embrace family planning, saying its socio-economic benefits lead to female empowerment and economic enhancement.

The wife of the governor said this during an event organised to commemorate the 2021 World Contraception Day, noting that there was no better time than now to put family planning on the front burner, adding that it ensured a woman had adequate time to achieve her career goals.

According to her, family planning is an informed decision by an individual or a couple on how many children to have and when to have them.

She added that the practice involved the use of modern contraceptive methods to adequately space pregnancies.

“Family planning prevents birth-related complications for both mother and child and has the long-term benefits of empowering women and reducing poverty.

“Families that have the number of children they can afford to train are able to devote more resources to providing them with adequate food, education, clothing, shelter and other necessities.

READ ALSO Discrimination against mentally challenged persons can push them to suicide, psychiatrist warns

“There is no gainsaying that family planning enables women to pursue their educational and career aspirations, acquire more wealth, and in the long run, contribute to the socio-economic development of their immediate communities,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said the event with the theme, “A new Lagos, Family planning, a catalytic pillar for female empowerment and socio-economic development”, seeks to put Family Planning on the consciousness of citizens and front burner of public discourse.

Abayomi said that in 2018 research estimates that the State has averted about 167,000 unintended pregnancies, 59,000 abortions and 1,100 maternal deaths.

“Women who space their births can devote more time to pursue their educational and career aspirations, and, in the long run, accrue more resources.

“High fertility rates may hinder such opportunities for advancement, increase health risks for women, and lead to deterioration in the quality of life,” Abayomi said.