Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 - One comment

Do men belong in the maternal health movement?

Though many mistakenly believe maternal health to only be an issue pertaining to women, it’s an issue that society as a whole needs to address.

When we talk about maternal health, it’s easy to categorize the subject as a “women’s issue.” After all, one can pretty safely say that a man will never be at risk of death for birthing a child, nor will he need to worry about any of the disabling complications that can occur in the process of giving life.

But while the physical act of childbirth is reserved for mothers, it is naive – and even harmful – to consider maternal health a topic that is reserved for women. In truly prioritizing maternal health globally, actors from all corners of each community – especially men – need to be key contributors to the dialogue.

A community working together

This short segment from Walking the Path of Unity, a documentary about female genital cutting (FGC) in Southern Senegal, does a great job of highlighting the potential for real social change when a diverse group of stakeholders works together to address an issue. What I particularly like about this video is its emphasis on husbands and traditional and religious leaders. Together, the men and women of Diégoune abolished FGC entirely in their community, an act that would have faced much more resistance if it had only been prioritized by the women and not reinforced through traditional and religious means. Though FGC is a separate issue from maternal health, the community’s response to this problem is one that can apply to any issue and that teaches us that we must all work together as a group.

This video is one piece of evidence in a string of many that emphasizes the critical role of involving non-female advocates in the maternal health movement.

Reopening the dialogue for men

Brazilian Ashoka Fellow Jorge Lyra is doing some really interesting work along these lines as well. His organization, Programa PAPAI, provides direct service, training workshops, and advocacy to expecting and new young fathers. In Brazil, where young fathers often prefer to disassociate themselves with their pregnant partners – and even their own children – he has responded by moderating discussions around key issues like sexual health and STDs, marriage and fatherhood, conception and pregnancy, and accountability. Essentially, he has reopened the dialogue for men to understand and participate in their partner’s and family’s health.

Programa PAPAI also offers workshops and discussion groups to hospital reproductive health departments on how to better incorporate men into prenatal and postnatal care. With the buy-in of all parties, he is laying the framework for maternal health to become a more universal priority.

Globally, the communities and countries that will find real, sustainable improvements for maternal health will incorporate everyone in the push, not just women, not just mothers.

This entry was originally posted on Ashoka’s Change InSight Blog at http://www.ashoka.org/newsblog.

Guest Editor

Claire Bangser

Program Coordinator, Ashoka

About

I am the Program Coordinator for the Young Champions of Maternal Health Program at Ashoka. I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in African Studies, and minors in French and Art. I have also been involved with a number of different educational programs targeting youth in DC, St. Louis, and Harlem.