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Chinese New Year
In a warm March day Eziz was ready to pick up from the maternity ward his wife Nazik and newborn son Abdylguly, being a second child. The head of the family arrived at the hospital in a colorful car, decorated with toys, with his family and relatives.
It is worth noting that the meeting from the hospital – in Turkmenistan - is a real ritual and party. He rushes up the stairs and anxiously waiting for the baby, while he is swaddled. “I'm so proud to be a father for the second time,” says Eziz. “I haven't slept for two weeks, I was so nervous. Now the child is with us, we can celebrate this event and relax.”
Eziz is a young entrepreneur engaged in the textile business. “When I come back from office, I want to see my child. I rush into the home, where my world is filled with a new light," he says, believing that love is the key to raising children.
The nurse brought the waiting parents of Shageldi and Ogulhally their four-day baby - Nepes, wrapped in a silk blanket. Shageldy, unable to restrain the emotions, had tears rolling down the cheeks.
Berdy accompanied his wife Kumush until the last minute, before she was sent to the delivery room, holding her hand, cheering as best he could. “I do not have enough words to express my feelings,” recalls Berdy after birth in the waiting zone.
Arslan and Alina look tenderly at their second child - son Damir. The baby was shown to the father 20 minutes after he saw the world.
“The last nine months, I was preoccupied, as if I was preparing to deliver. And now I feel calm”, he says. “I decorated my car. This is a way of the father to show the world that he has a child. This is an expression of my inner feelings, happiness and joy. I want to tell it everyone”.
In Arslan’s opinion, when fathers participate in upbringing, the child grows up in a full-fledged family, in which the potential of the child is revealed. “It's important to be spiritual. Fatherhood is in our character,” the man says.
“The birth of a newborn from the perspective of the mother and baby has been documented so beautifully many times, but relatively speaking there is somewhat a lack of images that portray the birth and first moments of life from the father’s perspective,” Zehbrauskas told in interview with HuffPost.
“Showing fathers in this way ― emotional, full of pride, committed ― in the most life-changing moments in their lives will hopefully encourage and inspire other fathers across the world to feel confident and play a big role in their young children’s lives”, she added.
Adriana’s photos, which also reflected the diversity of the cultural landscape of the five countries, have one unifying feature – bright emotions, pride, a strong feeling of commitment and nerves that can be red in the faces of all the participants of the photo session.
Experts believe that the first 1000 days in the life of a child are the most significant period for their growth and development. The first three years lay the foundation for the baby’s future. And in this process, fathers have a crucial role to play.
UNICEF urges governments to implement national family-friendly policies that support early childhood development to give parents the time, resources and information they need to help their children survive, grow and thrive.
