Importance of a father being with newborn: Techies, IT activists, and neonatal doctors speak

Express News Service

HYDERABAD:  A newborn needs 24×7 attention and care, not just from the mother, but from the father too. Perhaps, for this very reason, Twitter CEO Parag Agarwal took a few weeks’ paternity leaves after he and his wife welcomed their second child. 

In the first week, a baby doesn’t develop physically, in fact, it reduces in size after bearing the trauma of leaving the comfort of the womb. Early parenting involves tremendous stress complications and the mother cannot take it all.

“Pregnancy is not easy. It naturally brings feelings of anxiety and depression, which get aggravated in the absence of a husband, particularly amid a pandemic. The father is not only to share the responsibility of taking care of the baby but is also needed for moral support,” says Dr C Suguna, who heads neonatology and pediatrics at Apollo Cradle in Kondapur.

According to her, fathers play a vital role not just in those critical few weeks, but also set and strengthen the foundation of trust and comfort. “A month-long paternal leave must be a mandate for those whose children are born before 40 weeks. Babies demand delicate care and quite a few children these days are born before 40 weeks,” adds Dr Suguna. 

P Nagaraj, a new father and city-based techie working for a private firm, says, “We kept waiting and waiting, and were finally blessed with a baby recently. But sadly, I could not get my paternity leave. Ever since the pandemic broke out, work-life balance has been disrupted and it is a must to get time off work when you have a newborn. I finally have lined up a two-week paternity leave and can’t wait to spend all my time with my family. Although we have an extended family taking care of my wife and baby, they still need my presence.”

According to the rule books, government employees get 15 days of paternity leave, but there is no formal policy for employees in the private sector. “Many companies offer five days’ leave. Some give seven-14 days and a handful of companies allow a 30-day leave. It should be made compulsory, it must be a mandate for all companies to give a 15-day paternity leave, nothing less than that,” says IT employee rights activist Praveen Kumar. 

Madhukar Choudhary, an accountant who works with a private firm in the city, was lucky to get 14 days off. “But I had to apply for a longer leave as my baby girl was born within seven-and-half months. There were no complications, but my wife and my mother kept worrying about her. The support of a father is needed; paternity leave must be granted for at least three weeks during this critical stage,” he says.

Linga, another father, who was able to avail his leave weeks after his baby was born earlier this year, says, “I had to work the very next day my baby was born. It was stressful for both me and my wife. We all deserve time off work to focus on our family when they need us the most.”

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal is being hailed for taking a few weeks of paternity leave after he and his wife welcomed their second child. City-based techies, IT activists, and neonatal doctors speak about the importance of a father being with his newborn.