Men must be made to understand the value of family planning - particularly in societies where men hold the power of decision in the family. Dr. Kotha Pannikar, chairman of the Kedah Family Planning Association (FPA) in Malaysia, illustrated this point in discussion which followed the Consultation of Medical and Communication Fieldworkers conference in Kuala Lumpur in August, with a story about 1 of her own patients. When the girl, who had a rheumatic heart, was 16, Dr. Pannikar advised the parents that she needed cardiac surgery if she were to be a healthy wife and mother. But the parents lived some distance from Dr. Pannikar's surgery and did not heed the advice. The girl was married to a carpenter from a traditional Chinese family, in which "the man is lord and master." Her new home had no piped water, and in additional to normal domestic tasks she had to carry water from a source 1 1/2 miles agay. In the 7th month of her 1st pregnancy, she went into cardiac failure. After the 3rd pregnancy and a 3rd cardiac failure, Dr. Pannikar tried to arrange a sterilization "but we could not get consent - her husband refused to turn up at the hospital." When the girl was admitted to hospital 6 months into her 4th pregnancy, Dr. Pannikar got hold of her patient's mother-in-law. "I told her if she wanted a servant in the house, it was easy to get one. But no servant would look after her grandchildren the way their mother would. I told her if she wanted to save the girl's life she had better speak to her son." During the 4th delivery, the girl went into cardiac arrest and spent 2 weeks in intensive care. The mother-in-law prevailed upon her son to at least consent, and the girl was sterilized before she left hospital. But "it was a very near thing," Dr. Pannikar recalls "and it wouldn't have happened if the husband had felt he was responsible in parenthood." The Kedah FPA makes special efforts to reach men. Dr. Pannikar herself talks to men's organizations like the Lions and Rotary Clubs, and arranges education programs for trade unions and workers on the rubber estates. She thinks women need to be told repeatedly that they have a basic human right to choose whether they want to have a baby, and when. "Women feel," she says, "that their only function is to cook, wash clothes and feed the baby. We need to tell them they have a part to play in the society of today because their children will be the citizens of tomorrow."o
必须让男性明白计划生育的重要性——尤其是在男性掌握家庭决策权的社会中。马来西亚吉打州计划生育协会（FPA）主席科塔·潘尼卡尔博士，在8月于吉隆坡举行的医学与传播领域工作者协商会议后的讨论中，用她自己一位患者的故事阐述了这一点。这个患有风湿性心脏病的女孩16岁时，潘尼卡尔博士建议她的父母，如果她想成为健康的妻子和母亲，就需要进行心脏手术。但女孩的父母住在离潘尼卡尔博士诊所较远的地方，没有听从这个建议。女孩嫁给了一个来自传统中国家庭的木匠，在这个家庭里“男人说了算”。她的新家没有自来水，除了日常家务，她还得从1.5英里外的水源地挑水。在她第一次怀孕的第7个月，她出现了心力衰竭。第三次怀孕并经历第三次心力衰竭后，潘尼卡尔博士试图安排绝育手术，“但我们无法获得同意——她的丈夫拒绝到医院来。”当女孩在第四次怀孕6个月时住进医院，潘尼卡尔博士找到了她的婆婆。“我告诉她，如果她想在家里雇个佣人，这很容易做到。但没有哪个佣人会像孩子的母亲那样照顾她的孙辈。我告诉她，如果她想救女孩的命，最好劝劝她儿子。”在第四次分娩时，女孩心脏骤停，在重症监护室里待了两周。婆婆说服了儿子至少同意进行手术，女孩在出院前做了绝育手术。但“情况非常危急，”潘尼卡尔博士回忆道，“如果丈夫觉得自己对为人父母负有责任，这种事就不会发生。”吉打州计划生育协会特别努力地去接触男性。潘尼卡尔博士本人会与狮子会和扶轮社等男性组织交流，并为橡胶种植园的工会和工人安排教育项目。她认为需要反复告诉女性，她们有选择是否生育以及何时生育的基本人权。“女性觉得，”她说，“她们唯一的职责就是做饭、洗衣服和照顾孩子。我们需要告诉她们，在当今社会她们也能发挥作用，因为她们的孩子将成为明天的公民。”
