EDITORIAL - What about the men?

Word is that the Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Foundation (BCNF) has plans to engage the Ministry of Health and, by extension the Ministry of Labour, to change legislation so working mothers can have a minimum of six-months paid maternity leave, rather than the customary three months. 

 

The BCNF will therefore be embarking on an island-wide petition, with the goal of garnering 3 000 signatures, followed by discussions with the Ministry of Health to effect this change.

 

It can be argued that a plug should be made at the same time for fathers to have some time off from work to assist the mothers as well at this critical juncture. 

 

The options for dads who want to be there to support their partners who are on maternity leave are pretty limited here in Barbados. It seems that it is up to the discretion of the company in which the male is employed, to determine how much leave he can have. For some males, they have to fight to be recognised as an equal partner in the process of caring for a child.

 

Fathers have important role to play

Why shouldn’t men be able to take time off from work to spend with their newborn children? If we are truly advocating that fathers play a greater role in the lives of the little ones they have helped to create, and if we truly want stronger families, then we have to look in more detail at the giving the male substantial paternity leave. Not just two or three days’ leave.

 

A caring father can be of comfort to his child when mom needs to take a bath, eat a meal or just collect her thoughts. Those women who have been there know how intense the early days and weeks after childbirth can be, when a child needs round-the-clock care, not forgetting that mom also needs to look after herself after labour and delivery.

 

Many times, we as a nation like to adopt the culture and practices from the more developed countries – things that are not always for our betterment – and we ignore those things that can actually aid us in our development. 

 

Often, international countries have models that we can follow and simply tweak to suit us here in the Caribbean. Sweden, for example, is one country which gives generous paternity leave and males and their children have benefited from such. So the research on such a topic has been done.

 

Given the Herculean task the mother has to undergo of delivering the child, often with a male who feels helpless by her side, it would be a compassionate move to see that caring fathers get the chance to do what they can for her afterward, by simply being around. 

 

And while many persons are in the habit of bashing men, it is clear that there are males out there who want to help out with child care and who want to be there in the early days to bond with their children and to assist the mother of their child. 

 

While we might not be able to afford males taking a few months off, you can be certain that the world would be a better place if they at least had a few weeks to adjust to their new role of being a proud and doting dad; and family life in Barbados would benefit immensely as well.