Figure 7: Percentage women giving birth with skilled attendants / in facility 2000-2013 Sources: MICS 2005 & DHS 2013 Figure 8: Inequities in access to delivery by skilled birth attendant Source: DHS 2013 Family planning services and fertility in Sierra Leone 271. The GoSL recognizes that there is an essential link between appropriate family planning and the health of women and their children. It prevents pregnancies that are too early or too late, extends the period between births, and limits the number of children families can safely afford to have. It is therefore critical that all couples and women access information and services appropriate family planning services. 272. The Essential Package of Health care services includes family planning and contraceptive services which are accessed through some government hospitals, outreach clinics, mobile services and community health workers. Whilst the use of contraception remains low in Sierra Leone, with only 17 percent of married women using contraception of any kind, and 16 percent using modern contraception’s, family planning services have contributed to a lower national fertility rate (NFR) (Statistics Sierra Leone, 2014). The NFR dropped from 6 or more children per women at the beginning of the millennium to 5 in 2013. However the rate remains higher in rural areas where the average was 5.7 in 2013, compared to urban areas where it was 3.5 children per woman (Statistics Sierra Leone, 2014). 74  Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone Initial Report on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2002-2014