‘PANIC MANUALS’: Ministry booklets perpetuate false stereotypes, cause mothers to blame themselves and are not science-based, a legislator and advocates saidBy Chen Yu-fu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Advocates yesterday called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to revise its guidance for pregnant women, saying material it released reads like “modern versions of social taboos” disguised as scientific advice.
To mark Mother’s Day on Sunday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲), new mothers and other advocates held a news conference in Taipei criticizing the ministry’s “Maternal Medical Instruction Booklet” and “Maternal Health Booklet,” saying they contain dubious guidelines that cause unnecessary fear among expectant mothers.
They should provide “accurate information, not false stereotypes and stress,” Fan said.
She also called for more complete information about the stages before and