In Senegalese culture, birth is considered a sacred space for women only; for example, babies are delivered by midwives and a grandmother, aunt, sister, or a close friend of the birthing mother often accompanies her to the birthing facility, waits to receive the baby, and then gives the mother postpartum support while she is in the first hours after birth.
Fathers do not attend births at all. It’s quite common for a father to have very little involvement with his wife’s pregnancy. A man will often wait to see his wife and baby when they arrive home from the birth 24-48 hours later.
Although having men attend births is not our goal at SHI, we do encourage men to get involved by attending prenatal consults with their wives, to become educated on the needs of their wives and newborn baby.
