Birth spacing initiative in Oman.

The Sultanate of Oman, faced with the potential for a population explosion that would drain national educational and economic resources, has initiated a birth spacing program which is in its fifth year of implementation at all Ministry of Health facilities. The program was developed based on data from a survey of married Omani women of childbearing age and their spouses. Success has been attributed to the inclusion of Muslim religious leaders at all stages of planning and implementation to deflect people's concern that child spacing is forbidden, and to educational outreach to men.