The Birth Empowerment Alliance of Taiwan on Thursday joined lawmakers in urging the government to provide better educational programs and improved healthcare services, including psychological counseling, for pregnant and postpartum women to help boost the nation’s declining birthrate.
Alliance executives released the results of a survey at a news conference at the legislature in Taipei showing that only 38 percent of women who had given birth underwent prenatal educational courses, and only 31 percent had their partner also participate in the courses.
“Government programs should do more to help pregnant women who are experiencing anxiety and fear from lack of support and services during the prenatal stage. Then after giving birth, they are stressed on how to choose daycare services and other maternal care needs,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Shiou-fang (黃秀芳) said.
Photo courtesy of the Birth Empowerment Alliance of Taiwan
This lack of support, and a need for education and counseling during the prenatal and postpartum stages, is why many young women are not willing to have children, Huang said.
DPP Legislator Chen Hsiu-pao (陳秀寶) cited data indicating that 50 to 80 percent of Taiwanese women suffered postpartum depression, which not only affects their mental health, but could lead to self-inflicted injuries or other people getting hurt.
“The guidebook for pregnant women contains contact information for those needing mental health counseling, but in reality this is not effective. Our government is expecting these women to seek help on their own. How can people expect them to take the initiative to help themselves when they are already surrounded by all kinds of difficulties and stressful issues?” Chen asked.
Mental health counseling for pregnant women should be included as required medical checks for those in the third trimester of pregnancy and in first month of the postpartum stage, and listed as mandatory for those diagnosed as having depression in the prenatal stage. Health professionals and social workers should make regular telephone calls or personal visits to new mothers to ascertain their condition, Chen added.
Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), a new father from Taipei, said: “When my wife got pregnant, I tried to accompany her as much as I could, but I did not know how to help her. This shows the importance of prenatal education courses, to teach me how to provide better support for my wife so that she does not have to bear all the stress and hardship by herself. So I hope the government can provide more funding and resources for educating new parents.”
“We also do not agree with the women and childbirth policies presented by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) because they do not add up,” Lee said.
Hou has said he would provide subsidies for women wishing to freeze their eggs for future use, but when previously questioned about this in the New Taipei City Council he said freezing eggs is an “invasive medical procedure” that carries a risk to a woman’s health, so he would not provide subsidies, Lee said.
Now he is campaigning for the presidency he has done a U-turn on this policy, Lee said.
Liu Jen-chao (劉仁照), who has three children, urges the government to provide better quality prenatal educational courses.
“For parents with a newborn baby, many big changes take place from pregnancy to birth, then looking after the baby means family life has to change. The government should provide more support and subsidies for these educational courses, as well as funding to hire more educators,” Liu said.
“All new parents should receive at least 12 hours of ‘childbirth’ courses to provide the needed knowledge and bolster the confidence of new parents. In doing so, it would motivate more people to raise children,” he said.
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