Many women in Afghanistan say their husbands and their husbands’ families pressure them to give birth to a son, pushing them into repeated pregnancies. This pressure strips them of the right to decide when and how often to become pregnant and puts both their physical health and mental well-being at risk. These women explain that their families believe a quick pregnancy after the first birth will result in a boy. They stress that this false belief, and the pressure it creates, must change, and that families and society should respect women’s rights and choices about pregnancy.
Other women, speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, say fear of contraceptive methods has also led them to repeated childbirths. They explain that other women warned them that contraceptives could cause infertility, which discouraged them from using these methods. As a result, misinformation and fear have left them facing serious physical and psychological struggles.
In many traditional families in Afghanistan, the difference between having a daughter and a son still carries deep weight. Women who give birth to daughters are often blamed or treated with disrespect, while giving birth to a son brings praise and status within the family.
Suraya (pseudonym) is one of these women. Her first two children were daughters, and her mother-in-law forced her to become pregnant again as quickly as possible in the hope of having a son. Suraya says this pressure damaged her physical and mental health and robbed her of the time she needed to rest and care for her children.
“When my second daughter was born, my mother-in-law told me to become pregnant again during the forty-day postpartum period,” Suraya says. “She said that if I did, my next child would definitely be a boy. I became pregnant again, but I gave birth to another daughter. During that time, I had no chance to rest and no strength to care for myself or my child. My hair and eyelashes fell out, and my physical and mental health suffered badly. There must be spacing between births, and no woman should be forced into pregnancy.” She urges other women not to follow false beliefs or put their health in danger.
Suraya adds, “I went through a great deal of pain, and my experience taught me that whether a child is a girl or a boy is in God’s hands. No one can decide that. I advise all women to take control of decisions about pregnancy for their own health and for the well-being of their children, and not to give in to pressure.”
Widespread misconceptions persist among women in Afghanistan about contraceptive methods such as pills and other preventive tools. Many believe these methods cause infertility, organ damage, severe irritability, or even mental health problems. Because of these beliefs, many women avoid contraception altogether.
Nasima, another woman, says doctors advised her to space her pregnancies after the birth of her first child. Fear of contraceptives, however, stopped her from following that advice. She says women need better information so they can recognize false claims and make healthier decisions about pregnancy.
“My children were born very close together,” Nasima says. “My second child became weak because I was still breastfeeding my first child, and I did not have proper nutrition. He suffered many problems. Now my other child is also very weak, and even during pregnancy, I could not take proper care of myself. If I had used a contraceptive method, none of this would have happened.”
Doctors warn that pregnancies without proper spacing can cause serious physical harm to both mothers and children. They stress that allowing enough time between pregnancies is essential for the health of the mother and the newborn. Proper spacing can reduce the risk of premature birth, low birth weight, and severe complications. They say educating women and families about birth spacing and ensuring access to effective contraception can significantly lower maternal and newborn deaths.
Lamia Amini, a doctor, says women should wait at least two to three years between births. She explains that ignoring this interval can lead to serious health problems, including osteoporosis, severe anemia, and nerve damage. These conditions can prevent a mother from properly caring for the fetus during pregnancy and the newborn after birth.
“Women need a two to three-year gap between births to protect their health,” Amini says. “When mothers become pregnant again too soon, their bodies lose essential vitamins and minerals. They experience hormonal changes and long periods of exhaustion. After nine months of a difficult pregnancy and breastfeeding, both the mother’s health and the baby’s health are placed at serious risk.”
Earlier, the United Nations Population Fund warned that millions of women and children in Afghanistan lack access even to basic health services due to clinic closures and reduced international aid. The agency said many of these deaths could be prevented and noted that every two hours, one citizen of Afghanistan dies from pregnancy, childbirth, or related complications.
The World Health Organization has also reported that 24 mothers and 167 children die every day from illnesses linked to pregnancy and childbirth.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that the ban on education for women and girls in medical sciences has deepened the long-term crisis in Afghanistan’s health sector. It says the maternal mortality rate in the country is now three times higher than the global average.
The Taliban have not released statistics on maternal deaths, and doctors are not allowed to share such data with the media or speak openly about dangerous diseases.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
باورهای سنتی و زایمانهای مداوم؛ ترکیبی که جان زنان را به خطر میاندازد
link
