Ghana’s population according to the 2010 population census was estimated to be 24 million people. Females represent 51% of the population whilst men represent 49%. Population growth rate stood at 3.2%. The population growth rate was very high in rural areas and Rural Northern Ghana is not an exception.

Women in Rural Northern Ghana are the most poorest among the poor in Ghana. A visit to these areas will need no research to affirm or deny this assertion. One can vividly see the emaciated bodies of these women and may even wonder if they get a meal a day especially around May to July. These conditions they find themselves can be attributed to several factors and one of the main reason is the fact that, they are “like incubators for breeding children”. Child birth is inherently dangerous with many potential implications.

Growing up in Rural Northern Ghana, it was very common to hear statements like “she is a real woman”, meaning that she has given birth to ten or more children. Every woman aspires to give birth up to ten children or more to be acclaimed as such. The beliefs and customs of some ethnic groups in northern Ghana motivate women to give birth to many children.

One of the reasons was that, when you give birth to ten children or more you were supposed to cook a full guinea fowl any time your husband had to kill one or during festivals and sacrifices. This therefore encourages women to give birth continuously until they can no longer menstruate and as such can not give birth. Also people believe that when you have more children it implies worth.

Another attributable factor is that, in the rural areas the only economic activity is agriculture- peasant farming, therefore giving birth to many children means that more hands on deck. The children grow up to support their families in the farming activities. That is why, it is very common to see children as old as eight or ten years involve in farming activities. The last but not the least reason to be talked about is the fact that as the biblical saying goes “lack of knowledge my people perish” Most women in rural Northern Ghana are uneducated and as such lacks knowledge on family planning.

It is very imperative to note that, most of these women are the bread winners of their families and due to the high number of children they give birth to, they continue to wallow in abject poverty. The cycle of poverty continues as the children are unable to access education and end up taking up their parent profession.

These things affect the women’s health, education, economic status among others.

In conclusion, it is high time government pay attention to the plight of the rural women to enable them achieve their potentials.