Husbands have important role in safeguarding wives' health

JAKARTA (JP): Safe Motherhood and other programs to improve women's health status will fall flat in reaching their goal without full support from male members of a patriarchal society like Indonesia.

Meiwita B. Iskandar, resident advisor of Population Council Jakarta, said in a report that husbands, fathers, brothers and employers, most of whom are men, play significant roles in changing and reshaping people's attitudes toward the importance of improving women's health.

"Gender inequities continue to adversely affect women's health throughout their lives, starting from birth," she said.

Women, especially those living in villages, have less access to available health-determining services, education and other social facilities, making them vulnerable to poverty, social abuse or economic deprivation, she explained.

"Any women's health program should also target male citizens in order to educate and inform them about the related program."

Husbands are closely involved in the Safe Motherhood program. Thorough information and education on the process of pregnancy and child delivery must be given to them, Meiwita said.

"Many husbands are ignorant about the welfare of their pregnant wives because they don't understand and they have inadequate knowledge of problems relating to pregnancy and childbirth."

In big cities, many prospective fathers have started to attend prenatal classes to prepare young couples physically and emotionally for the birth of their babies.

Paternity leaves are not yet popular here in Indonesia, unlike in developed countries where fathers are allowed to take time off.

In rural areas, local organizations including integrated health services center (Posyandu), community health centers (Puskesmas), village women's welfare organization (PKK) and other prominent agencies could motivate and provide necessary education for fathers-to-be and other male members. This could cover nutritional intake, the childbirth process to postnatal caring, she said.

Stephen J. Woodhouse, Unicef's area representative for Indonesia and Malaysia, shared Meiwita's views on educating men on the childbirth experience.

"There are many uncaring and unkind husbands in every country including in Indonesia. They treat their wives indifferently," he said.

Many pregnant women continue to work in rice fields or do heavy domestic works, juggling this with taking care of other children without the help of their spouses, Woodhouse observed.

Many men have prevented their wives from having appropriate medical treatment from trained midwives or doctors. They prefer their wives to have babies at home with the assistance of traditional midwives in order to save on medical costs.

"This is not a sad story, but it is a real fact that happens in most villages in the country," he said.

Unicef supports various women's health programs in several provinces.

He said that it was important to improve the treatment available to pregnant women and lactating mothers.

"By improving their health condition, they will likely give birth to healthy babies, something good for their families and the society to have healthy members."

Approaches to educate male members also occur in urban areas where many women are employed both as trained and professional workers in offices and cheap labor in factories.

Julie Marsaban, an executive of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (Path) Indonesia, said at a meeting organized by the Menteng Rotary Club here recently that intervention was made through companies and factories.

In cooperation with international donor agencies and local non-profit organizations such as the Kusuma Buana Foundation, Path Indonesia is actively promoting the improvement of women's health in workplaces.

"We are encouraging employers and executives of companies to give extra attention to their women workers and to provide better working environment for these workers, especially when they are pregnant," Julie said.

According to the International Labor Organization's standard, the protection of women workers during pregnancy and maternity is normally mandated under the labor code covering conditions of work, employment and health through applicable social security regulations.

A study has found the condition of working women in Indonesia is alarming. Seven out of 10 women suffer from serious anemia, bound to reduce their work productivity by 20 percent. Only a small percentage of female workers receive adequate social security protection, including maternity leave, compensation and pension schemes.

"We are also promoting iron tablets and the consumption of nutritious food among workers and employers to enhance their health condition," said Julie.

She explained that several companies were involved in the programs and she hoped others would also join for the sake of the female workers's welfare in particular and other staff members in general.

"The multiple benefits of women's improved health include increased productivity and a positive impact on the health of families and the society," Julie said. (raw)