This year 18,355 couples visited Marie Stopes International Timor-Leste health facilities to ask for information and make the decision to space out their children through family planning. 
The statistics are based on MSITL family planning assistance in eight districts including Baucau, Viqueque, Lospalos, Ermera, Ainaro, Manufahi, Bobonaro and Dili from January to July this year.
MSITL Coordinator Fernanda Maria Serra said this was significant progress towards reducing the maternal and infant mortality rates in Timor-Leste.
“It’s a really good result and it means that a lot of men in Timor-Leste chose to protect the health of their wives and children,” said Coordinator Serra in her office in Vila Verde.
She added three to five years was a sufficient amount of time for mothers to recuperate after giving birth before they fall pregnant again.
She said Marie Stopes was ready to cooperate with the Ministry of Health and all entities to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates through distributing information about family planning in the community.
In relation to family planning, Country Director of MSITL Nicola Morgan said women who fall pregnant often without spacing out their children could face serious health problems, like an infection or death.
“Mothers who get pregnant a lot and do not space their pregnancies every year are at risk of dying, infection, and poor health,” said Morgan.
She said women and babies got sick and died in Timor-Leste because the mothers didn’t leave time for their bodies to recover after giving birth and did not breastfeed their babies.
On the other hand, mother Aida de Jesus who went to MSITL for family planning said she made the decision without pressure from anyone else, but based on her own conscience and with support from her husband.
“No one forced me but my husband and I are the ones who decided to consider family planning,” she said.
She added after an explanation from the staff at the MSITL clinic, she decided to choose natural family planning for five years so she could recuperate her health and give attention to her six-month-old baby.
