When men start giving birth

Today, you and I are going to change the story of creation!!! Of course, I am not talking about creating new software or inventing a new technology; I am referring to the real story of the creation of man. Have you ever wondered how the world would be, if the words of God changed after he found that Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit?

What if there was an exchange of roles, sounding like this: “…And to you Adam, I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your wife, and she will rule over you…”

This I’m pretty sure would have made the world a sane place and made a big difference. Really! If only men would go through the painful process of keeping a pregnancy and giving birth, they’ll appreciate the strength of their women and the special attention they need.

Married or unmarried, people have sex for all the reasons there can be. When pregnancies come, it then becomes the sole responsibility of the woman to bear all the stress and tiredness during pregnancy, the excruciating pain of childbirth and the responsibility of breastfeeding, changing diapers and more after delivery. Now is the time to define the real responsibilities of men in the lives of their pregnant partners, daughters and children.

Though they may seem farther to reach, organizations and agencies such as the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) are close enough and vigorously leading the campaign towards securing the lives of our pregnant women, however, the men who are major ‘investors’ in creating the pregnancies are just too busy to care.

So now, you may be wondering what on earth the man is expected to do, except to relish the pride in being able to get his woman pregnant and preparing for the naming ceremony. Well, there’s a lot more responsibility than that vague description of the role of men in caring for pregnant women.

To set the premise, I need to give you the very reason agencies such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are calling for all-inclusiveness in fighting mortality among pregnant women.

The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes is what best describes maternal mortality.

This can be measured in terms of maternal mortality ratio, which is the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA & The World Bank 2012). It must be acknowledged that thousands of lives worth saving have been lost from maternal mortality.

In Ghana, where the maternal mortality ratio is 350 deaths for every 100,000 live births, (one of the highest in the world) women die daily from pregnancy related complications. These deaths occur regardless of the many efforts put forth to meet the fifth goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aims at reducing maternal mortality in Ghana by the year 2015. We are barely six weeks away and Ghana is unlikely to meet this target.

All these give rise to the need to having the support of everyone including men. If only men would be by the side of their women and support them through it all, some of the deaths associated with pregnancy would be prevented. Now these are three very important ways men can help in improving maternal care in Ghana and Africa.

Men Need to Educate Themselves on Pregnancy Women react differently when pregnant, from the swelling feet to the morning sicknesses and pretty annoying habits. When you are willing to accept these changes your wife might be going through, your possibility of understanding her is assuring enough of your support. I believe men can educate themselves on taking care of their pregnant wives by reading books and other materials, and also speaking to a professional.

If men are involve in the process, such as accompanying their pregnant partners to anti natal care, it will help clear the misconceptions and superstition associated with pregnancy and help contribute to healthy lifestyles of pregnant women.

Encourage Women to Seek Pre-Natal Care and Post- Natal Care Men’s role in ensuring good health care of their wives is very essential in the life of pregnant women.

This will help reduce the risk of pregnancy complications and ensure good health of the unborn child. In most Ghanaian societies where the man is the head of the family, the woman is expected to consult the man before taking any decision of going to the hospital or the clinic to seek medical help.

This can be dangerous to the health of the woman since emergencies cannot be managed at home or by Traditional Birth Attendants. Therefore, encouraging pregnant women to visit health centers immediately there is an emergency is a crucial role which needs to be played by men.

Leaders (men) should involve Maternal Health in key Policies and Ensure proper Implementation The free maternal health policy in Ghana, which was an initiative by the Ministry of Health, and launched in 2008 to provide subsidized health insurance to pregnant women in the country is one of the interventions by Ghanaian leaders to help address the challenges pregnant women face with regard to access to healthcare delivery services. This initiative is one of the few policies by the country’s leadership with central focus on the healthcare of pregnant women in Ghana.

According to an evaluation report by the United Nations Children’s Fund on the free maternal healthcare initiative in Ghana in 2012, it was found that, since the inception of the initiative in 2008, there has been a steady increase in the number of facility-based deliveries from about 300,000 in 2007 to about 500,000 in 2011.

This brought an improvement in the previous years, where access to health facilities highly depended on one’s ability to afford the services of professionals in health facilities.

Even though the initiative had its challenges such as the distance and cost of transport to health facilities, perceived hostility of maternity staff, cultural beliefs and superstition and shortage in supply of supplies and human resources, the general outcome brought about an improvement in the desire for safe healthcare and delivery for pregnant women in Ghana and Africa.

Due to these benefits derived, it is prudent for the men who occupy positions of leadership than women in this country to know that all inclusive participation by men in decision making including political leaders, opinion leaders, chieftaincy institutions and other decision making bodies will go a long way to save the lives of women who die from pregnancy related complications.