Fewer Child Deaths, but what about the long term consequences?

Click here for the story on NPR

Listen to it, probably should listen to it first... it was playing as I was headed in to work this morning and I was so struck by something I thought I heard that I had to look it up and listen again.

Did you hear that part about how the biggest problem were mothers-in-law? and that in follow up sentences they said mothers?

Oh dear, this could prove to be so problematic!

I love humanitarian work, but I have seen so many places and people destroyed by people who seem to think they know better.

And the way that this one was reported scares me.

The way I understand as how I heard it told, informed me that they Save The Children, tend to think that the elder generation of women are stupid and that the problem is in re-educating the young women to not listen to them.

So, we may have solved the first part of the survivability of children in harsh environments... but what about the long term?

IFF I understand the project correctly, we now have women who have successfully given birth to their children in a clinical setting (which I would argue against in some circumstances)... we now have a disenfranchised family because the young mother was taught that her mother in law (and possibly even her mother) are stupid and don't know what they are doing!

Considering that in Afghanistan the young female tends to stay with her husbands family, this can be highly problematic and I didn't hear that being addressed.

And I feel helpless because;

a) I don't know if STC is doing the right thing in trying to preserve these family relationships (I searched their website and was unable to find any specifics about this program).

or (and)

b) what do I do to make sure that it is well understood that keeping a balance to family relationships in the case that STC isn't considering the longer term impact on children (and their mothers)?

I am moved to skeptical caution as it is by the part of the story about the birthing kits... that alone should have been handled better with an eye to long term consequences.

(a portion of this post is a comment on the link)