IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i19p12182-d925377.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Association of Male Partners’ Gender-Equitable Attitudes and Behaviors with Young Mothers’ Postpartum Family Planning and Maternal Health Outcomes in Kinshasa, DRC

Author

Listed:
  • Anastasia J. Gage

    (School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA)

  • Francine E. Wood

    (Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA)

  • Darling Kittoe

    (School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA)

  • Preethi Murthy

    (School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA)

  • Rianne Gay

    (Tulane International LLC, Ngaliema, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Abstract

Inequitable gender norms can contribute to rapid repeat pregnancies and adverse maternal health outcomes among adolescent girls and young women. This study examined associations between male partners’ gender-equitable attitudes and behaviors and postpartum family planning (FP) and maternal and newborn health (MNH) outcomes among first-time mothers aged 15–24 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Participants were 1335 couples who were successfully interviewed in the Momentum project’s 2018 baseline and 2020 endline surveys. Multivariable regression models were used to analyze predictors of postpartum FP discussion and use, shared MNH decision making, completion of the maternal health continuum of care, and exclusive breastfeeding. Male involvement in maternal health was significantly associated with FP discussion and shared decision making. Male partners’ willingness to be involved in routine childcare and shared decision making were significant positive predictors of exclusive breastfeeding. Postpartum FP outcomes were shaped by the intersection of marital status and male partners’ gender-equitable attitudes, intimate partner violence perpetration, and willingness to engage in routine childcare activities to constitute advantage for some outcomes and disadvantage for others. Interventions must use multiple measures to better understand how young mothers’ health outcomes are shaped by their male partners’ gender-related attitudes and behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • Anastasia J. Gage & Francine E. Wood & Darling Kittoe & Preethi Murthy & Rianne Gay, 2022. "Association of Male Partners’ Gender-Equitable Attitudes and Behaviors with Young Mothers’ Postpartum Family Planning and Maternal Health Outcomes in Kinshasa, DRC," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-24, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12182-:d:925377
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12182/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12182/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeni Klugman & Lucia Hanmer & Sarah Twigg & Tazeen Hasan & Jennifer McCleary-Sills & Julieth Santamaria, 2014. "Voice and Agency : Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 19036, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. World Bank, 2016. "Georgia Country Gender Assessment," World Bank Publications - Reports 26091, The World Bank Group.
    2. Alice Evans, 2017. "Urban change and rural continuity in gender ideologies and practices: Theorizing from Zambia," WIDER Working Paper Series 061, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Uche Eseosa Ekhator-Mobayode & Lucia C. Hanmer & Eliana Carolina Rubiano Matulevich & Diana Jimena Arango, 2020. "The effect of armed conflict on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): Evidence from the Boko Haram (BH) Insurgency in Nigeria," HiCN Working Papers 321, Households in Conflict Network.
    4. World Bank, 2020. "Sierra Leone Economic Update, June 2020," World Bank Publications - Reports 34313, The World Bank Group.
    5. Lnu,Anukriti & Herrera-Almanza,Catalina & Karra,Mahesh Venkat, 2022. "Bring a Friend : Strengthening Women’s Social Networks and Reproductive Autonomy in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10107, The World Bank.
    6. Duggal, Khushi, 2023. "The Relationship between Child Marriage and Female Educational Attainment in India," Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers 57, Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers.
    7. Ahmed, S. Amer & Vargas Da Cruz,Marcio Jose & Quillin,Bryce Ramsey & Schellekens,Philip, 2016. "Demographic change and development : a global typology," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7893, The World Bank.
    8. Teresa Cappelli & Luca Tiberti & Elisa Ticci, 2023. "Climate, women's resilience and mediating channels in rural Benin," Working Papers - Economics wp2023_08.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    9. Eunice Williams & Sabu S. Padmadas & Heini Vaisanen, 2022. "Women's economic empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from cross-national population data," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 47(15), pages 415-452.
    10. Jorge M. Agüero & Veronica Frisancho, 2022. "Measuring Violence against Women with Experimental Methods," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(4), pages 1565-1590.
    11. Jeannette Walsh & Joanne Spangaro & Karen Soldatic, 2015. "Global understandings of domestic violence," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 1-4, March.
    12. Théophile T. Azomahou & Eleni Yitbarek, 2021. "Intergenerational mobility in education: Is Africa different?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 503-523, July.
    13. Salia, Samuel & Hussain, Javed & Tingbani, Ishmael & Kolade, Oluwaseun, 2017. "Is women empowerment a zero Sum game? Unintended Consequences of microfinance for Women’s empowerment in Ghana," MPRA Paper 82895, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Aug 2017.
    14. Carmen Friedrich & Henriette Engelhardt & Florian Schulz, 2021. "Women’s Agency in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia: The Role of Parenthood and Education," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(5), pages 1025-1059, October.
    15. Victor Lavy & Giulia Lotti & Zizhong Yan, 2022. "Empowering Mothers and Enhancing Early Childhood Investment: Effect on Adults’ Outcomes and Children’s Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(3), pages 821-867.
    16. Guadalupe Bedoya & Aidan Coville & Johannes Haushofer & Mohammad Isaqzadeh & Jeremy P. Shapiro, 2019. "No Household Left Behind: Afghanistan Targeting the Ultra Poor Impact Evaluation," NBER Working Papers 25981, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Saibal Ghosh, 2023. "Gender and discouraged borrowers: Evidence from India," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1731-1752, October.
    18. Chris Desmond & Kathryn Watt & Sara Naicker & Jere Behrman & Linda Richter, 2024. "Girls' schooling is important but insufficient to promote equality for boys and girls in childhood and across the life course," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 42(1), January.
    19. Bo Kyong Seo & In Hyee Hwang & Yi Sun & Juan Chen, 2022. "Homeownership, Depression, and Life Satisfaction in China: The Gender and Urban-Rural Disparities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-13, November.
    20. Ana María Iregui-Bohórquez & María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo & Ana María Tribín-Uribe, 2015. "Mujer rural y violencia doméstica en Colombia," Borradores de Economia 916, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12182-:d:925377. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.