Q98 :In a discussion with friends recently, some of
us were of the opinion that there should be no restriction on the
number of pregnancies or child-bearing. Others insisted on allowing
time between every two pregnancies to give the mother a chance to
recover and the child a chance to grow up more healthy. They said that
temporary methods may be used for this purpose. Is this
permissible?
A98 : Experienced and honest doctors are unanimous
in their view that pregnancy spacing, which means allowing two or three
years between each two pregnancies is important for the health of the
mother. It allows her time to recover her strength before she goes
through another pregnancy which adds a significant burden on her
health. They allow that frequent pregnancies, particularly by women in
poor areas, may expose the mother to a number of health risks. Women
who have several pregnancies in quick succession may suffer
under-nourishment which aggravates the risk to which they are exposed.
Since this has been proven beyond doubt, it is permissible, from the
Islamic point of view, to take any legitimate steps which are
calculated to give the mother a better standard of health. It is only
netmon sense to say that a mother with a young baby will be able to
take better care of her young child if she is not pregnant than she can
do during pregnancy. She can better breast-feed and take good care of
the child during illness. This child will benefit a great deal if the
mother is free to devote more time. In the light of the foregoing, it
is both desirable and preferable to allow a period of time, such as 2-3
years between each two pregnancies. Indeed Allah has helped make such
pregnancy spacing easier by stating that the full term of breast
feeding is two years. This encourages mothers to breast-feed their
newborn children for two netplete years. The majority of women do not
get pregnant while breast-feeding, although a substantial proportion of
them do. Women in the latter group need a supplementary method of birth
control to enjoy a long enough period free of pregnancy. Such methods
are permissible to adopt on the individual level, provided they are
safe and involve nothing harmful to the woman or to the fetus. Methods
which prevent conception are the one to be employed. It has been
authentically reported by some of the netpanions of the Prophet that
they used to resort to available methods of birth control and the
Prophet did not forbid them that. He told them that such methods could
not stop the creation of a human being, if Allah wills him or her to be
created.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )