For Khadijat, helping women make choices about their bodies and futures isn’t simply a job. It’s what she has always wanted to do.
“I am a midwife by choice and not by chance,” she says. “I have always wanted to be in that environment where I’m assisting people with their reproductive choices.”
Today, Khadijat works with MSI Nigeria, supporting women with the information, care and contraception they need to make decisions on their own terms.
And she knows just how much those choices can shape a woman’s life.
For a young woman who becomes pregnant before she is ready, the consequences can reach far beyond pregnancy itself.
“One of the first challenges that women face, especially when they are young and still in school, is the risk of being forced out of school,” Khadijat explains.
There can be an emotional toll too.
“There may be a risk of depression when you’re not mentally ready for pregnancy. And then there may be some financial constraints as well.”
These are not small consequences. A pregnancy that comes before someone feels ready can change her education, her finances, her wellbeing and the future she imagined for herself.
That’s why access to contraception is about so much more than preventing pregnancy. It’s about having the freedom to decide your own life.
Khadijat wants women to have that freedom.
She talks with women about their options and helps them think about what is right for their health, their circumstances and their future. Through MSI, that care can help someone decide whether she wants to become pregnant now, later, or not at all.
Care through every stage of life
Khadijat’s passion doesn’t begin or end with contraception.
For her, reproductive healthcare is a lifelong journey – beginning with a girl’s first period and continuing through pregnancy, motherhood and eventually menopause.
“MSI cares a lot about women and their path, assisting women at every stage of their life,” she says.
That can mean helping an adolescent understand menstruation. Supporting someone to find the contraception that works for her. Helping a woman prepare for pregnancy when she is ready. Or giving her trusted information as she approaches menopause.
At every stage, the principle is the same: women deserve knowledge, care and the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies.
And sometimes, making that possible means taking care beyond the clinic walls – reaching women with the conversations, information and services they might otherwise never have.
Because choice means very little if it is out of reach.
Thanks to supporters like you, providers like Khadijat can keep standing beside women throughout their reproductive lives – helping them protect their health, plan their futures and approach motherhood, if and when they choose it, feeling mentally, physically and financially ready.
For Khadijat, that is exactly where she wants to be. A midwife not by chance, but by choice – helping more women experience the power of choice for themselves.
You can help make choice possible
Your donation can help MSI providers like Khadijat reach more women with trusted information, contraception and compassionate reproductive healthcare.
Donate today and help give more women the freedom to choose what happens next in their lives.
