There is something missing in all the Zika stories....

[heyjude]

And this article perfectly highlights the glaring omission.

www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-zika-photos-20160320-snap-htmlstory.html

Do you know what it is?

[picksthemusic]

It looks to me like the only people who are caring for these babies after they're born are the mothers and other women. I only saw a man in one photo.

[pixy0stix]

Some of the articles do mention the fathers in passing. Mostly to point out that, for the most part, they leave when the babies are born.

[oliviapope]

"New mothers there are grappling with the fear that their children could have serious birth defects."

[simpsongal]

Mar 24, 2016 10:07:44 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

It looks to me like the only people who are caring for these babies after they're born are the mothers and other women. I only saw a man in one photo.

Ditto. I read another article recently that said the dads often take off when they see their baby has a birth defect.

[MrsAxilla]

Mar 24, 2016 10:08:51 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Some of the articles do mention the fathers in passing. Mostly to point out that, for the most part, they leave when the babies are born.

I can't dispute that might be true, but I don't think the three photos in that link "perfectly highlights a glaring omission".

[heyjude]

Mar 24, 2016 10:07:44 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

It looks to me like the only people who are caring for these babies after they're born are the mothers and other women. I only saw a man in one photo.

Ding ding ding ding!!!!

Something has been rubbing me the wrong way with all these Zika stories. They are almost always portrayed as a burden a mother must bear. Fathers are hardly ever mentioned. Actually the one story I read that featured the feelings of a father was a story about a white couple who vacationed in Costa Rica and is now worried about their fetus.

Are these all virgin births? Where are the dads? Because they do exist. I'm not sure why the media is running with this strange narrative about parenting in Latin America.

[simpsongal]

Mar 24, 2016 10:13:57 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Mar 24, 2016 10:07:44 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

It looks to me like the only people who are caring for these babies after they're born are the mothers and other women. I only saw a man in one photo.

Ding ding ding ding!!!!

Something has been rubbing me the wrong way with all these Zika stories. They are almost always portrayed as a burden a mother must bear. Fathers are hardly ever mentioned. Actually the one story I read that featured the feelings of a father was a story about a white couple who vacationed in Costa Rica and is now worried about their fetus.

Are these all virgin births? Where are the dads? Because they do exist. I'm not sure why the media is running with this strange narrative about parenting in Latin America.

Is it strange or is it what's really happening?  The other thing that strikes me is the age of the moms - so many barely look older than 20.

[ttt]

Mar 24, 2016 10:13:57 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Mar 24, 2016 10:07:44 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

It looks to me like the only people who are caring for these babies after they're born are the mothers and other women. I only saw a man in one photo.

Ding ding ding ding!!!!

Something has been rubbing me the wrong way with all these Zika stories. They are almost always portrayed as a burden a mother must bear. Fathers are hardly ever mentioned. Actually the one story I read that featured the feelings of a father was a story about a white couple who vacationed in Costa Rica and is now worried about their fetus.

Are these all virgin births? Where are the dads? Because they do exist. I'm not sure why the media is running with this strange narrative about parenting in Latin America.

I feel like I've read quite a few articles about how fathers are abandoning these mothers and children en masse. The macho culture is so strong that often the woman is blamed for the birth defect and men can't accept an "imperfect' child. 


www.reuters.com/article/us-health-zika-women-idUSKCN0WD21D


www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/02/18/467056166/moms-and-infants-are-abandoned-in-brazil-amid-surge-in-microcephaly

ETA: Brazil has so many issues with the health system and cultural mores that even the men who do want to stick around are offered virtually no support. Some of the blame lies upon individual men and some of it lies with the culture and system as a whole.

[heyjude]

Mar 24, 2016 10:31:28 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Mar 24, 2016 10:13:57 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Ding ding ding ding!!!!

Something has been rubbing me the wrong way with all these Zika stories. They are almost always portrayed as a burden a mother must bear. Fathers are hardly ever mentioned. Actually the one story I read that featured the feelings of a father was a story about a white couple who vacationed in Costa Rica and is now worried about their fetus.

Are these all virgin births? Where are the dads? Because they do exist. I'm not sure why the media is running with this strange narrative about parenting in Latin America.

Is it strange or is it what's really happening?  The other thing that strikes me is the age of the moms - so many barely look older than 20.

I think anytime you are lead to believe something horrible about minority men as a whole ("they split as soon as the they learn about the baby's condition") with nothing to back it up other than anecdotes, you should find the reporting, especially western reporting, suspect, at best.

[AJL]

It's also possible that the fathers of the babies in the article are just not available. I don't mean they've abandoned their families. I mean they're out providing for their families. They may be working, either locally or away. They may just not logistically be able to be at those appointments.

I don't doubt that some men have abandoned their wives because of a child with a birth defect, but I don't think that's the cultural norm at all.

I think this article is profiling ONE clinic and ONE day of appointments in the photos. There are too many valid reasons for fathers not to be in the picture that have nothing to do with abandonment or not caring or whatever.

[simpsongal]

heyjude, that's a good point. Plus, I'd imagine the gender roles tend to be more traditional in these countries. The moms may be the ones at the doc w/the babies b/c the dads are working and/or it's traditionally the domain of the mom.

Such a devastating public health crisis. I know the research is ongoing but it seems like it's been a while since I've heard any developments or breakthroughs.

[lexus]

Mar 24, 2016 10:40:53 GMT -5 AJL said:

It's also possible that the fathers of the babies in the article are just not available. I don't mean they've abandoned their families. I mean they're out providing for their families. They may be working, either locally or away. They may just not logistically be able to be at those appointments.

I don't doubt that some men have abandoned their wives because of a child with a birth defect, but I don't think that's the cultural norm at all.

I think this article is profiling ONE clinic and ONE day of appointments in the photos. There are too many valid reasons for fathers not to be in the picture that have nothing to do with abandonment or not caring or whatever.

I was thinking this as well. Dh doesn't come to most appointments because of work. We are saving his sick time for when the baby comes and in case our dd gets sick since I have to go to the appointments. I bet if you took pictures at an American OBs office you would see very few men there too.

[heyjude]

It's not just this one story guys or these three or four images. It's all the Zika stories. They all are like this. Except the one that featured white Americans worried about Zika.

[pixy0stix]

I don't know what the answer is, as I'm not familiar enough with the culture. As it stands, I would probably go with ttt's evaluation of what is happening.

[nikki25]

I am not necessarily disagreeing but if you go to most pediatricians in the states it is mostly women. For the most part we, women, handle the health care side of children. Not in love cases but I know if the daycare calls I immediately get up to leave. Natural instinct maybe?



ETA: I ameant only basing this off the article and pictures.

[heyjude]

Mar 24, 2016 10:50:51 GMT -5 @mx said:

I've read a lot of stories about the fathers. In some of them only the father was interviewed. I'm trying to remember where specifically I've been reading them though. I think Frontline has been doing a lot about it?

Find and share them please! Because the only stories I have seen feature women and how this is a burden to women. Indeed, see the LA Times headline to the above article.

[ttt]

Just here in the US, we have major problems with fathers being treated as equal parents to mothers. Who does the school call first? How does a father look when he takes a day off every month to accompany his wife to the OB? How do we look at paternity leave?

This is a country with far, far less money and a much more disorganized and underfunded health system. The actual women giving birth to these babies are getting minimal support, so it should come as no surprise that the fathers are getting absolutely nothing. Nobody is educating them as to what causes these defects, whose 'fault' it is (answer: nobody's), how they can help their partner and child, etc. Employers sure aren't giving those men a lot of slack either. And remember that this outbreak is happening primarily in poor, rural areas with less-than-stellar educational systems, so it's not like most of them are well-versed on virology and biology to begin with.

So while yeah, it's undisputably shitty to abandon your disabled child and his/her mother, I place most of my blame on the government and system that has failed so, so many families.

[ttt]

Also, here's one of the articles I read about how non-Zika-related birth defects are getting completely ignored (or rather, they are continuing to be ignored): www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/01/zika-epidemic-uncovers-brazils-hidden-birth-defect-problem/

[ttt]

Another photo gallery, with several fathers:

www.ibtimes.co.uk/zika-virus-brazil-parents-babies-born-microcephaly-demand-answers-1540558

[jeaniebueller]

Mar 24, 2016 10:50:51 GMT -5 @mx said:

I've read a lot of stories about the fathers. In some of them only the father was interviewed. I'm trying to remember where specifically I've been reading them though. I think Frontline has been doing a lot about it?

I thought I read one too that featured a dad holding one of the babies. But then I do recall another story where the mom said the dad left her because of the babies special needs.

[ttt]

Mar 24, 2016 11:10:24 GMT -5 @mx said:

Mar 24, 2016 10:58:09 GMT -5 heyjude said:

One of the things that the US media may not be explaining well is that the specialized care required for an infant/child with special needs is not going to be available at a neighborhood or even secondary referral clinic. So parents who ordinarily take their kids 20 minutes on a bus to see a doctor are now taking buses 3-4 hours each way every few weeks to see the specialists in the larger cities. So you're unlikely to see both parents traveling--in many cases it's not even the parents it's a grandparent doing this because the parents are employed in wage or casual labor and can't routinely take 1-2 days off for the many medical visits required.

I think it's difficult for a lot of Americans to understand just how big Brazil is and how remote and removed some areas are. 

[heyjude]

Well okay so the media is not at zero in terms of adding fathers to the mix in a positive light. Yay.

I was pregnant during the start of the Zika problem. And I follow probably every major media outlet on FB, (mostly western media, admittedly). Those two facts meant FB gave me a ton of Zika related stories to read in my newsfeed every day. And there was most definitely a pattern in the reporting and photos.

[heyjude]

Mar 24, 2016 11:26:58 GMT -5 @mx said:

Mar 24, 2016 11:21:35 GMT -5 heyjude said:

And I follow probably every major media outlet on FB, (mostly western media, admittedly).

[

You're a brave woman. I think I'd pass out from rage before even getting out of bed in the morning if I did this!

It can be a bit much. But you can see patterns in reporting when you follow them all.

[heyjude]

Doesn't everyone on CEP do this? Lol.