An Assessment of Male involvement in Antenatal Care and Childbirth at Petauke Urban Clinic
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Date
2023
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University of Lusaka
Abstract
Pregnant women require uninterrupted support from their male counterparts to see the healthy and happy outcomes of their pregnancies. It is needful that all men accompany their pregnant wives during antenatal care visits. The exclusion of men from maternal and child health care could lead to few women seeking maternal health services and as a result increasingly worsening the negative maternal and child health outcomes among women and children.
The objective of the study established the social-cultural and health facility related factors influencing male participation in antenatal care (ANC) and childbirth at Petauke Urban Clinic. This was a cross-sectional study employing qualitative method. Using a reliably validated self- administered semi-structured questionnaire, data was collected for three weeks from 30 clients consisting of both pregnant women and their husbands who turned up for
antenatal care. This study was descriptive because it involved a systematic collection and presentation of data to give a clear picture on factors that lead to low male involvement in antenatal care. Only less than half of the study participants were men. Most of the study participants had been to secondary school, married and all of them were Christians. Majority of the study participants had escorted or were escorted for ANC. On average the distance of between 5 to 10 kilometers was covered by the respondents from their homes to the clinic. All the respondents indicated that it was acceptable in their communities for men to accompany their female partners to ANC. The main reasons for having never (been) escorted (by) spouse for ANC were: long hours of about six were spent at ANC, lack of proper shelter and being afraid HIV status could be revealed. Most participants were able to state that knowing HIV status only was a core benefit for visiting ANC as a couple. Majority of the respondents noted that the health workers were friendly to men and attended first to those who went with their partners. It was acceptable in the communities of respondents for men to participate in ANC. That was why most men had accompanied their partners to antenatal clinic for pregnancy booking which provided them an opportunity to learn how to take care of the expecting woman, the developing infant and birth preparation. This indicated that most men had access to prenatal care.
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Research Report Public Health