Self-Care: Going Beyond the Provider
by Michelle Rodriguez, Advocacy Officer, White Ribbon Alliance
Today, White Ribbon Alliance celebrates International Self-Care Day because we believe that when a woman is empowered and informed to make health decisions, there is a direct personal benefit and to her, her family and community. Self-care is a set of activities that individuals, families and communities can take throughout their lives to enhance health and prevent disease. Self-care is an essential part of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH), because it empowers women and their families with knowledge, skills and confidence to proactively direct and maintain individual and family health.
In global settings, maternal mortality solutions are often the responsibility of health systems and providers. However, women-centered reproductive and maternal health reaches far beyond health systems, into every corner of communities. Saving lives and strengthening communities takes a crosscutting group of allies and partners to ensure that no woman dies from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth.
Today, as we celebrate International Self-Care Day, White Ribbon Alliance releases a broad list of action items to be taken by decision makers, advocates, program implementers and health professionals, because a coordinated and crosscutting approach is the best approach to prevent maternal and newborn deaths.
Below are three simple, coordinated actions for decision makers, advocates, program implementers and health providers to help create positive outcomes for women, children, families and communities:
1. Promote Self-Care Among Citizens: We know that including citizens in health strategies and dialogues leads to positive and sustainable results. Examples include incorporating women in policy development, inviting them to share personal stories as campaign spokespersons and creating a genuine feedback loop so they understand how their input has been used. Consulting women directly and incorporating their needs and wants for quality reproductive and maternal health will ultimately lead to stronger women, children, families and communities.
2. Mobilize Stakeholders to Take Action: Engage decision makers and other stakeholders to understand and promote self-care. Leaders should use their influence to develop robust self-care support.
3. Enhance Policies and Programs: Make self-care an integral part of health policies and approaches. Self-care isn’t a new concept, and many already have self-care policies and programs in place. By investing in self-care trainings for healthworkers, women and communities, you can create positive relationships between women and healthworkers, benefiting everyone.
Regardless of where one might concentrate their efforts — nationally or in a rural village, as a policy maker or a program innovator, in health systems, facilities or via advocacy — there are many actions that can be taken to create a systematic, women-centered approach through self-care. Read more in our self-care toolkits for decision makers, advocates, health professionals and program implementers, and other self-care resources, at the White Ribbon Alliance resource page.
