What is the Role of the Father in Family Planning?

When we talk about family planning, we immediately think of the mother in the family. It makes sense though because family planning looks into the health of the mother and their child. However, we only pay little attention to the role of the dads.

As a provider of medical services in Ontario as well as contraceptive choices, we acknowledge the role of every member of the family including the father’s. Arkell Walk-In Clinic & Arkell Pharmacy, a walk in clinic in Guelph, Ontario, lists down the important roles the father plays in this process:

• A father is a PARTNER to their wife.

  Women in our contemporary times are more empowered and stronger than they have ever been in the past years. They get to decide what to do with their bodies. They have the freedom of choosing what they want. Furthermore, they have a voice in pressing issues. This is the big leap we have attained. However, when we speak of family planning, women are not alone in deciding what is the best for the family. They have their husbands as partners in making the most suitable decision that will benefit both of them and the well-being of the children.

• A father serves as the SUPPORTER of the family choice.

  Ladies are tough. They suffer monthly in order to prepare their body for conception. And when pregnancy comes, their life hangs on a balance when they give birth. And yet, they remain to be the strong women we know them to be. Though the women are strong, they still need support from their partners. That is why their husbands are with them through thick and thin. They give their support either financially or emotionally. Whatever the wife wants to take in this plan, it’s the role of the husband to support it no matter how hard it can be for both of them.

• A father is a PART of the process.

  Men are always a part of the plan for they are involved one way or another. A man has a role to play. They have their own preferences and ways of accessing services and information. If we rip them away from this role, it is like not recognizing them as a part of the family. That is why when making choices, we also have to respect what they want. And the key to that respect is through proper communication.

• A father is also a VOICE of the family.

  Including the man in the family to take part in family planning helps them overcome the social expectation of being “macho.” The reason men do not cry or talk much is because they are expected to show less emotion. Let us break this barrier by giving them a voice in our family choices.

What are the other roles we forgot to mention? Leave a comment here!