Now husbands love their wives more

Nadira Gunatilleke

The new pre-natal care model programme launched by the Health Ministry with the objective of changing attitudes of Sri Lankan married men towards their pregnant wives has achieved a significant success.

The contribution of fathers towards taking care of pregnant mothers has shown a positive change, Health Ministry spokesperson W.M.D.Wanninayake said.

The programme was launched recently at the Family Health Bureau (FHB) in the presence of Health Deputy Minister Lalith Dissanayake, FHB Director Dr. Deepthi Perera and others.

According to Wanninayake, the Health Ministry discovered that pregnant mothers living in rural areas do not get the required care in their home, especially from husbands and family. Often drunk husbands beat the wives and overlook their emotional, psychological and nutritional requirements.

They rarely help them in their day to day activities. Sometimes, they totally ignore their pregnant wives and have affairs with other women. To overcome this situation, the new model programme is being implemented in the Kandy and Ratnapura districts.

Under the new pre-natal care model programme, it is compulsory for both pregnant women and their husbands to attend three programmes conducted every three months during the pregnancy.

Organizers found later that couples are more caring about each other and the husband taking good care of his pregnant wife after the programmes, he said.