?When you and other family members take special care of my mother?s food and care during pregnancy, it makes me happy and I feel secure and comfortable.?
This is what a letter to Om Prakash, a soon to be father in India, read. The letter was written from the perspective of his unborn child as part of a program called Sure Start which aims to involve men in their wife?s pregnancy and help fathers to understand what is required of them to ensure their child and wife survive. The letter pleads to the father-to-be and asks him to ensure positive health behaviors in his wife during pregnancy and alerts him to warning signs that the woman may need medical attention. The letter had such a strong effect on Om Prakash that he immediately left the area where he was living and working and returned home to his pregnant wife. When she fainted days after his return, the knowledge Om Prakash had gained from the letter helped him to realize she needed medical attention and because of this, he was able to make the important decision to get her medical attention. Because he did, both his son and wife are healthy today.
This program stuck out at me because it is different than many others types of interventions I have read about. Alluding to the emotional side of men seems to be a different approach and hearing about how it has worked got me thinking about how effective this type of intervention could be. Often the man of the house makes financial decisions and therefore has the control over the diet of his pregnant wife and whether or not she receives medical treatment. Historically, men in India have been more hands off during the pregnancy process than Om Prakash, but I am a supporter of involving the fathers-to-be, regardless of who makes the decisions about seeking medical treatments. I think it is important to encourage men to take an active role in pregnancies and caring for young children. When the men are educated about this aspect of home life it makes it easier to make wise family decisions which can help the family in many ways, including ensuring access to health care. This way the knowledge about how to have and raise healthy children is not limited to one adult, but shared, helping to ensure that both parents can do all that they can to support the health of the children and the family as a whole. I think this type of environment, where both parents are consciously aware of making healthy decisions for their children, is one of the most conducive to having a healthy population.
Interventions of this type should be further analyzed to see how effective they truly are, and if they have similar effects on all men as it did with Om Prakash, I believe they should be implemented in other areas and possibly for other topics, such as promoting education and schooling in all children.
References:
http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2012/03/Dear-Dad
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