The “Pregnant Man”; A Strategy Towards Husbands’ Contribution To Maternal And Child Health Risk Reduction In Rural Ghana

Abstract

This study aims at ensuring that husbands take active role in assisting their pregnant wives obtain maximum support to reduce maternal, neonatal and child health risk in Ghana. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among households targeting husbands with wives who had at least one child of less than one year of age or pregnant at the time of the study. A sample size of 398 respondents was determined using single population proportion formula using a probability-based simple random sampling (lottery) method and asystematic random sampling technique in line with NCPH (2011)formula. The study revealed that men in Ghana are less likely than women to engage in MCH services across the pregnancy period, resulting in poorer prenatal care outcomes and dissatisfaction from the women.Health care facilities have achieved limited spousal attendance at ANC and immediate post-natal care and treatment coverage with barriers including confidentiality concerns, distance to the facility, inconvenient hours, and perceptions that facilities provide women-centered services. Other barriers to male engagement include peer negativity against the practice, poverty, and feelings of compromised masculinity associated with seeking health care with wife during pregnancy.Community-based education and husband to husband peer education interventions (particularly home and mobile) have high acceptability and reach more men than health care facility-based approaches for effective and efficient men involvement in MCH services. Community-based interventions should be tailored to the needs of men to maximize uptake, including flexible hours, multiple follow-up visits, and convenient and private access to care. In conclusion, based on the findings of this study, more research is needed on male-centered approaches to increase men's engagement in MCH services, particularly earlier in wife’s pregnancy.The current state of evidence strongly suggests that community-based educate-and-sanction strategies can reduce the gender disparity in MCH services and attendance by husbands by achieving higher levels of spousal engagement in and support of wives during both ANC and PNC services.