Since time immemorial pregnancy and childbirth have been generally viewed as women's concerns, with men being often uninvolved, only providing financial support and in some cases leaving everything to the woman.
It is rare for Zimbabwean men, both from rural and urban areas, to wholeheartedly accompany their wives when they go for antenatal check-ups during pregnancy. For most men, accompanying a pregnant wife to the clinic is "taboo" and "embarrassing" yet pregnancy is the responsibility of a man and a woman.
Chiedza Musara, a 19-year-old pregnant woman from Harare's Mbare is one of the many women who have had to do without their husbands at such a "delicate" time.
Her husband, John, is a welder at Siyaso and never finds time to accompany her to the clinic.
He makes US$45 per week and up to US$100 when business is brisk.
"He always has an excuse and does not want to take part in this pregnancy. I am three weeks from my due date and I have no money to pay hospital fees.
"John says the pregnancy is not his priority right now and wants to first buy a television set so that he can watch soccer from home. He always tells me that most parents of the five-year-olds I see playing in our neighbourhood still owe Edith Opperman and Harare Hospital and there is nothing peculiar about my case.
"If anything, he always tells me that I should be grateful because I will give birth in an urban clinic which is closer to home," says the young mother-to-be.
Despite her husband telling her that he will not provide the hospital fees, he always boasts to his friends that she will bear him a baby boy resembling him, or a girl which he will name after his mother Getrude.
"I just laugh whenever he says this because he seems to miss the point that being a father is taking part in the development of a child from pregnancy till the child is old enough to take care of himself/herself. We always argue about this," she points out.
She is one of the unemployed women who struggle to convince their husbands to fully commit themselves during pregnancy.
Some hospitals have detained such women for non- payment of hospital fees and held on to birth records making it difficult for them to obtain birth certificates.
In Harare, maternity fees are currently pegged at US$25 at council clinics.
These charges have been contributing to a growing number of women delivering at home as they fail to raise the required fee.
However, Chiedza is also one of the thousands of women who will be relieved if Government finally abolishes maternity fees.
But her worry is that many women will wait a bit longer as it may take more time to effect the abolishment initiative.
It has been more than a year since the office of the Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe fund-raised US$100 million for accelerated reduction of pregnancy-related deaths and complications, the money is still lying idle at the bank.
This is despite the leadership's commitment to treat the matter with urgency.
The money was raised in October 2010 following Zimbabwe's successful launch of the Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) by DPM Khupe, also the campaign's goodwill ambassador.
Chiedza will definitely miss out on the free service this time as her baby will come in a few weeks time.
The African Fathers Initiative director Trevor Davies welcomed Government's decision to abolish maternity fees saying this would have a dramatic impact on the well being of families welcoming newborns in the country.
He described the move as a gender sensitive budgetary approach to parenting and maternal health that would put Zimbabwe in the forefront of efforts across Africa to reduce maternal mortality rates that have remained high in the country.
"This initiative by our Government becomes part of new family-centred approaches that will relieve particularly our poorest families of financial burdens around parenting including the cash transfers to thousands of poor families under the National Action Plan on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (NAP 11)," he said.
He added that the African Fathers Initiative responded to the challenge of male engagement by moderating discussions with men's and women's groups.
He pointed out that though many mistakenly believe that maternal health is a topic that is reserved for women, it is an issue that the Zimbabwean society as a whole needs to address and support.
"Before the current concern for male involvement began, reproductive health issues and services had become synonymous with women's reproductive health, and men were assumed to have no special interest in such matters.
"It is naïve -- and even harmful -- to consider that maternal health is a topic that is reserved for women. In truly prioritising maternal health, actors from all corners of each community -- especially men as fathers and fathers-to-be -- need to be key contributors to the dialogue and actions," he said.
Mr Davies revealed that the African Fathers Initiative wants to engage with communities and health services working with women and children's health.
"The AFI project will produce information packs that key 'gatekeeper' groups of community and health workers who want to interact with new fathers can distribute in communities, health facilities, workplaces and give to and discuss with fathers.
"The packs will contain important information for fathers and will help them to ensure the health of their partners during and after pregnancy and stimulate their bonding and support for their newborn children," he said.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Services in February this year announced that US$1 million had been given to the Health Transition Fund to facilitate the waiver of maternity and child health fees.
Director of Social Services in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare Sydney Mhishi, during his appearance before Parliament said while mothers' waiting shelters could be constructed, prohibitive fees are not removed, the mothers would still not come to use those shelters.
He said about US$1 million was put in the Health Transition Fund and the condition was that the money be used so that there is waiver of maternity and child health fees and resources are now to be put into the Ministry of Health to waiver those fees.
According to Mr Mhishi, the policy to waiver the fees had been put in place but the logistics was still to be worked out.
A nurse, Mrs Maria Gutu, said during pregnancy, women need special care to prevent complications and to ensure that any problem is treated right away.
"The women require support from their male partners to make advance preparations for childbirth.
"These include making decisions about where they will give birth and set aside money," she said.
She added that when men accompany their wives to antenatal clinics, nurses have time to talk to them about the health of their wives and the preparations that couples should make to ensure that both mother and baby will be healthy.
"We can also counsel the couple about HIV and Aids, and, if they want to know their status, they can get a blood test. If either or both the man or woman is infected, we look for ways to protect the foetus.
"We would also provide counselling and advice about their future and ensure that they can access anti- retroviral drugs if they need them," she said.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201203150152.html
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