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Date: | Sun, 11 Jun 2006 21:30:46 -0400 |
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Magda points out a very different experience with weighing scales being used in what appears to
be a negative manner. One that I think mimics my experience in Niger and in Peru with growth
monitoring and promotion. This was an entirely harmful use of a tool. In both cases health
workers routinely weighed babies and their was no useful information given to women that
enabled them to be empowered.
Tanzania and the Swedes used them in an entirely differnt manner with their Triple A Cycle. The
mother's themselves were empowered to trust themselves and developing strategies to better feed
their own babies. Although this particular project used scales, I have seen similar results with
different projects that have actively worked with mothers to help them feel empowered with tools
to observe and make decisions --- for instance Trials of Improved Practices. Rather than DICTATE
nutritional advice to these women about how to help their failing to thrive babies, they discuss
options in depth with health care practitioners. They give feedback to the health care
practitioners about these options. They make the decisions about what actions to try and often
modify the approaches for the better. Thus, the health care practitioner LEARNS as much or more
from the mothers than the mother learns from the health care practitioner.
Believe me, you can do the same thing yourself with tools when necessary and without tools when
unnecessary.
Weighing scales are NOT an intervention. They are not used to slice a woman open, take her away
from her baby so she is not able to bond, put foreign substances into a baby that may be harmful
or helpful. They are merely an observational device. They do NOTHING for mother or baby. It is
how we use the information to enable them to empower themselves to trust their own
observations that should be considered the intervention. In many settings this is entirely
unecessary. It some settings it is crucial.
Best regards, Susan Burger
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