Having children when you are young is ideal – Nutritionist

Mr. Samuel Atuahene Antwi, Nutritionist Officer at Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate said delivery is ideal for women when they are young and their reproductive system produces quality eggs.

He indicated that women's reproductive lifespan evolved within the menstrual cycle period; nevertheless, the fertility of eggs produced at ages 18 and up was of higher quality than eggs produced at ages 30 and up.

Mr. Antwi made the remarks at the weekly "Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility," a Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office initiative aimed at promoting health-related communication and providing a platform for health information dissemination in order to influence personal health choices through improved health literacy.

The Tema Regional Office of the Ghana News Agency launched the public health advocacy platform "Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility" to examine the components of four health communication approaches: informing, instructing, persuading, and promoting.

He also believed that giving birth at a young age was easier than giving birth at an older age when the woman and newborn were more likely to have abnormalities.

According to the Nutritionist, as individuals become older, they lose interest in many things. Still, early parenthood stimulates young couples since they have the energy to care for their children's development.

According to Dr. Mrs. Dorothy Hanson, a Medical Officer at the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH), having children at a young age is better; nonetheless, the interval between children is crucial.

Dr. Hanson also noted that giving birth early was the best option; however, the maternal death rate was extremely high; hence, mothers should consent at the optimum gestational age and consider spacing children.

She suggested having children between the ages of two and four years when the body had recovered from the previous delivery and was ready for another.

It was emphasized that the body reacted to giving birth as if it were the first time after a four-year interval.

The Medical Officer advised married couples to evaluate their financial and personal circumstances because some women had conditions that required them to limit births due to the high risk of mortality.

Dr. Mrs. Hanson did, however, recommend that all else being equal, young people marry early because giving birth early frequently allowed them to achieve the body stature, they desired and live life more fully.

-CDA Consult || Contributor