Author:
Chahalis Emily,McGhie Josie,Mulokozi Generose,Barham Shannon,Chappell Carter,Schenk Charisse,Linehan Mary,Torres Scott,Dearden Kirk A.,West Josh H.,Hall P. Cougar,Crookston Benjamin T.
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Male support for partners’ antenatal care (ANC) has the potential to improve women’s care-seeking and maternal health outcomes. This study describes factors that are associated with men’s involvement in household tasks and explores the relationship between men’s help with tasks and women’s ANC-seeking, diet and workload during pregnancy as well as other health behaviors.
Methods
This study was conducted in five Lake Zone regions of Tanzania. Cross-sectional surveys were carried out among approximately 10,000 households that had children under the age of 2 years. Surveys were administered to mothers of children less than 2 years and where available, their male partners. Data were collected between December 2015 and May 2020, in conjunction with a large-scale campaign aimed at reducing childhood stunting by changing the behavior of mothers, caregivers, and decision makers. Data analysis included bivariate analysis and logistic regression modeling.
Results
Men’s engagement in household activities was significantly associated with living in an urban setting, being younger, having at least some formal schooling, early verbal interactions with their children, and male involvement in healthcare decisions. Additionally, mothers of male partners that were engaged in household activities were significantly older and more likely to have at least some secondary school education. Relative to households where men only infrequently helped out with chores or not at all, women from households where men frequently helped were significantly more likely to have taken iron tablets during pregnancy, report having eaten more than usual, lessening their household workload during their most recent pregnancy, and more likely to have played with their child in the week prior to the survey.
Conclusion
Male’s participation in household tasks is associated with a general improvement in mother’s ANC behaviors. Implicit in these findings is that general primary education for both men and women has health benefits that transcend socioeconomic class and that future interventions aimed to engage males in household tasks may target older males with less education living in rural areas.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Reference32 articles.
1. Prata N, Potts M. Saving maternal lives in resource-poor settings: facing reality. Health Policy. 2009; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2008.05.007.
2. Lincetto O, Mothebesoane-Anoh S, Gomez P, Munjanja S. Antenatal care. In: Lwen J, Kerber K, editors. Opportunities for Africa's newborns: Practical data, policy and programmatic support for newborn care in Africa: WHO on behalf of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health; 2006. p. 55–62.
3. Okedo-Alex IN, Akamike IC, Ezeanosike OB, Uneke CJ. Determinants of antenatal care utilisation in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2019; https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031890.
4. Bohren MA, Hunter EC, Munthe-Kaas HM, Souza JP, Vogel JP, Gulmezoglu AM. Facilitators and barriers to facility-based delivery in low- and middle-income countries: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Reprod Health. 2014. https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-4755-11-71.
5. Bulemela J, Mapunda H, Snelgrove-Clarke E, MacDonald N, Bortolussi R. Supporting breastfeeding: Tanzanian men’s knowledge and attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding. Int Breastfeed J. 2019; https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-019-0244-7.
Cited by
6 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献