Lukman Abdulmalik
In Kano State, fertility remains among the highest in Nigeria, while modern child spacing techniques are gradually gaining ground, many families still grapple with misconceptions, cultural resistance, and the everyday realities of survival.
According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Kano is about 6.5 births per woman, far higher than the national average of 5.3.
More recent data from the Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) Survey, January 2022 (Kano-specific), revealed that modern contraceptive use among all women in Kano stands at 13.8%, with an unmet need for family planning at 20.2%.
This means one in five women who want to delay or avoid pregnancy cannot access safe and effective methods.
For a state with over 16 million people (CityPopulation.de 2022), these figures highlight a pressing public health challenge: how to ensure healthier mothers, children, and families.
Religious Guidance and Misconceptions
Family planning remains a sensitive subject in northern Nigeria, often caught between religious interpretation and community traditions. Yet, Islamic guidance supports child spacing.
The Qur’an (2:233) encourages mothers to breastfeed for two full years, a practice many scholars highlight as a natural framework for spacing births.
Several Muslim clerics in Kano have openly endorsed child spacing, emphasizing that it is not about rejecting children but protecting the health of mothers and ensuring families can care for their offspring.
Despite these teachings, cultural stigma persists.
Many men view contraceptive use as un-Islamic, and women often lack the autonomy to make reproductive health decisions without their husbands’ approval.
Too Many Children, Too Little Rest
On a quiet afternoon in Dorayi, Gwale Local Government Area, Rabi Musa sits on a wooden stool outside her one-room home, rocking her youngest child while her older children scramble around her.
At just 35, she has already given birth seven times.
Her eyes look tired, her voice weary.
“Wallahi, it is not easy,” she murmurs, shifting the restless baby on her lap.
“Sometimes I cannot even rest before another pregnancy comes.
“The children’s needs, from food to school fees, are overwhelming.”
For Rabi, motherhood has been a constant cycle, pregnancy, childbirth, and struggle.
Married at 18, she never imagined she would carry such a heavy burden. Yet, in her community, refusing another child is almost unthinkable.
Her husband insists that using contraceptives is against their religion.
Elders echo the same message: children are gifts from Allah, and it is haram to stop them.
So Rabi accepts her fate, even as fatigue sends her repeatedly to the hospital and her children battle poor nutrition.
Her story is not unusual.
Child Spacing Gave Me Peace of Mind
A few kilometers away in Sharada Ja’en, a section of Gwale LGA, another mother tells a very different story.
Zainab Abdullahi, 36, laughs easily as she threads a needle at her sewing machine.
Her three children are playing nearby, their school uniforms neatly folded for the next day.
Unlike Rabi, Zainab chose a different path. After her first two children came in quick succession, she decided to try contraceptive injections at her local Primary Healthcare Center (PHC).
“Alhamdulillah, life is much better,” she said, smiling.
“My third child came after four years. That gave me time to work, save money, and give attention to my children.
“They are healthier, and I am not always exhausted.”
According to her, at first, her husband resisted; he said family planning was not their way.
But after attending a community sensitization program organized by health workers at the community Islamic Center, his perspective changed.
“Now he supports me. He sees the difference it has made in our lives.”
For Zainab, child spacing brought peace of mind and the space to build her tailoring business.
For her children, it meant healthier meals and the chance to stay in school.
Two Mothers, Two Futures
The contrast between Rabi and Zainab is striking: one worn down by unending pregnancies, the other thriving with more control over her life.
Their stories reflect a broader truth: child spacing is not just about numbers, but about dignity, rest, and the chance for families to breathe.
As sensitization spreads and more families embrace healthcare schemes, hope is growing.
For women like Zainab, child spacing has already opened doors to stability.
For Rabi, the struggle continues, caught between tradition and the unrelenting demands of raising seven children.
And for Kano, the question remains: how many more women must walk Rabi’s path before child spacing is seen not as defiance, but as an act of care?
Expert View: Why Child Spacing Matters
According to Dr. Inusa Abdullahi, a reproductive health specialist at Murtala Muhammad General Hospital, child spacing is not about stopping childbirth but safeguarding the health of mothers and children.
He explained that when women give birth too frequently, their bodies do not recover, and children are at risk of malnutrition and poor growth.
“Spacing births by at least two years reduces maternal deaths, improves child survival, and helps families plan resources better.”
He added that the Kano State Healthcare Management Agency’s (KSCHMA) contributory scheme has made child spacing services more affordable, but myths and cultural barriers remain major obstacles.
“We continue to engage religious and community leaders to educate families that Islam does not forbid
child spacing for health reasons.”
A Growing Awareness
The government’s efforts to expand healthcare access are beginning to show results.
With the growing number of KSCHMA enrollees across the state, subsidized child spacing services are expected to reduce maternal and child mortality.
Awareness campaigns led by health workers, Non-governmental, and faith-based organizations are also gradually shifting perceptions.
Still, progress is slow.
Across Kano, the contrast between women like Rabi and Zainab underscores the choices families face.
For some, cultural resistance keeps them locked in cycles of poverty and ill health.
For others, access to modern child spacing has opened doors to stability, healthier children, and brighter futures.
As Dr. Abdullahi noted, “Child spacing is not a rejection of life, it is a path to preserving it.”
Plan your family, secure your future.
