Keen readers of this blog will be aware that Graham Allen’s Early Intervention review contained the word ‘mother’ nearly 8 times more than the word ‘father’. Radio 4’s programme on Monday, The Teenage Pregnancy Myth, went rather better. The words ‘mother’, ‘motherhood’ and ‘mum’ were mentioned 65 times, the word ‘father’ only 3 times, with the familiar ‘feckless’ adjective being attached to one of these. And a mother of a teenage mother was interviewed, but not the father.
It’s not that word counts say anything about the value of any document or programme. But they do suggest that the fact that men are also involved in pregnancy, that fathers are important in the lives of their children (see my paper at http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm/volumeID_23-editionID_184-ArticleID_1644-getfile_getPDF/thepsychologist/0310whit1.pdf), and that some of the consequences of fatherless families are of concern (see the previous post) are being glossed over.
Posts
2 comments:
I think both should be given equal importance. But people just feel the pain of mother during pregnancy, birth and after birth.That is why they give much importance to mother than father.
Thanks for your comment. Having seen my wife go through two pregnancies, and knowing what my daughter experienced during her recent pregnancy I have some second-hand knowledge of the pain they endured. Of course, that’s not the same as experiencing it first-hand. It’s just that there are some serious issues relating to fatherhood that need to be addressed. Good luck with your own pregnancy. To misquote Star Wars, “may your partner be with you”.
Post a Comment