Women and mothers are very important to our society. The role they play can never be over-emphasized going beyond being wives and mothers, but also with whom lies more responsibility in care for every member of the family. And for those who choose any form of career and business to venture into are really doing a great job. Particularly when it pertains to their health involving the complete state of their social, physical and mental wellbeing. Biologically, women are physiological more complex than the male counterpart, therefore they need to be supported in every area they so need it. This is therefore to say that every woman or mother is entitled to be healthy, which requires societal support and most importantly support from their families, most especially their husbands and partners.
Therefore, the need to integrate men into the maternal health system in Africa is very important. In African society a large percentage of men still occupy the position of solely making decisions for the family, which covers every area of their lives such as welfare, social, religion, education as well as the health issues involving any member of that family. However, most men do not understand the complexity of the physiological condition of women, which makes them make poor health decisions for them. They therefore need to be integrated into the system by educating them broadly about the various health issues that affect women ranging from pregnancy, child-bearing, postpartum care, hormonal changes and its effect on women, stress and how to help them cope amongst others.
Men should be encouraged to accompany their wives for ante-natal and postnatal visits, and also health education sessions should be planned and implemented for men also.
MODEL:
Ø Men should understand that the health needs of women are very different from theirs, therefore they should be allowed to make decisions affecting health by themselves.
Ø Men should be involved in various health programmes that affect women.
Ø Men should be encouraged to go on at least two ante-natal visits with women, to give them better understanding about maternal health.
Ø Women should be economically empowered to be able to afford the necessary health care service they need per time.
Possible outcomes when men are involved:
Ø Eradicate gender based violence.
Ø Improve the health status of women, by increasing early detection of some possible deadly illnesses such as cancer.
Ø Improves community based participation.
Ø Increase community and health facility linkages in addressing key health issues.
Image Source: James Lind Institute
Interesting, I hope this can be projected to get both men and women aware of the benefit of integrating men into maternal healthcare service delivery in Africa.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very great topic. I think it is time to put an end to gender bias concerning maternal healthcare service delivery especially in Africa.
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