IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0144135.html

Are Husbands Involving in Their Spouses’ Utilization of Maternal Care Services?: A Cross-Sectional Study in Yangon, Myanmar

Author

Listed:
  • Kyi Mar Wai
  • Akira Shibanuma
  • Nwe Nwe Oo
  • Toki Jennifer Fillman
  • Yu Mon Saw
  • Masamine Jimba

Abstract

Introduction: Husbands can play a crucial role in pregnancy and childbirth, especially in patriarchal societies of developing countries. In Myanmar, despite the critical influence of husbands on the health of mothers and newborns, their roles in maternal health have not been well explored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the factors associated with husbands’ involvement in maternal health in Myanmar. This study also examined the associations between husbands’ involvement and their spouses’ utilization of maternal care services during antenatal, delivery and postnatal periods. Methods: A community-based, cross sectional study was conducted with 426 husbands in Thingangyun Township, Yangon, Myanmar. Participants were husbands aged 18 years or older who had at least one child within two years at the time of interview. Face to face interviews were conducted using a pretested structured questionnaire. Factors associated with the characteristics of husband’s involvement as well as their spouses’ utilization of maternal care services were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression models. Results: Of 426 husbands, 64.8% accompanied their spouses for an antenatal visit more than once while 51.6% accompanied them for a postnatal visit. Husbands were major financial supporters for both antenatal (95.8%) and postnatal care (68.5%). Overall, 69.7% were involved in decision making about the place of delivery. Regarding birth preparedness, the majority of husbands prepared for skilled birth attendance (91.1%), delivery place (83.6%), and money saving (81.7%) before their spouses gave birth. In contrast, fewer planned for a potential blood donor (15.5%) and a safe delivery kit (21.1%). In the context of maternal health, predictors of husband’s involvement were parity, educational level, type of marriage, decision making level in family, exposure to maternal health education and perception of risk during pregnancy and childbirth. Increased utilization of maternal health services was found among spouses of husbands who accompanied them to antenatal visits (AOR 5.82, 95% CI, 3.34–10.15) and those who had a well birth plan (AOR 2.42, 95% CI, 1.34–4.39 for antenatal visit and AOR 2.88, 95% CI, 1.52–5.47 for postnatal visit). Conclusion: The majority of husbands supported their spouses’ maternal care services use financially; however, they were less involved in birth preparedness and postnatal care. Exposure to maternal health education and their maternal health knowledge were main predictors of their involvement. Women were more likely to use maternal care services when their husbands company them for ANC visits and had a well-birth plan in advance.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyi Mar Wai & Akira Shibanuma & Nwe Nwe Oo & Toki Jennifer Fillman & Yu Mon Saw & Masamine Jimba, 2015. "Are Husbands Involving in Their Spouses’ Utilization of Maternal Care Services?: A Cross-Sectional Study in Yangon, Myanmar," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0144135
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144135
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0144135
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0144135&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0144135?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gyimah, Stephen Obeng & Takyi, Baffour K. & Addai, Isaac, 2006. "Challenges to the reproductive-health needs of African women: On religion and maternal health utilization in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 2930-2944, June.
    2. Mullany, Britta C. & Hindin, Michelle J. & Becker, Stan, 2005. "Can women's autonomy impede male involvement in pregnancy health in Katmandu, Nepal?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(9), pages 1993-2006, November.
    3. Jerome K Kabakyenga & Per-Olof Östergren & Eleanor Turyakira & Karen Odberg Pettersson, 2012. "Influence of Birth Preparedness, Decision-Making on Location of Birth and Assistance by Skilled Birth Attendants among Women in South-Western Uganda," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(4), pages 1-8, April.
    4. Thaddeus, Sereen & Maine, Deborah, 1994. "Too far to walk: Maternal mortality in context," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1091-1110, April.
    5. Dudgeon, Matthew R. & Inhorn, Marcia C., 2004. "Men's influences on women's reproductive health: medical anthropological perspectives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(7), pages 1379-1395, October.
    6. Carter, Marion, 2002. "Husbands and maternal health matters in rural Guatemala: wives' reports on their spouses' involvement in pregnancy and birth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 437-450, August.
    7. Mullany, Britta C., 2006. "Barriers to and attitudes towards promoting husbands' involvement in maternal health in Katmandu, Nepal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2798-2809, June.
    8. repec:wbk:wbpubs:18203 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Barnes-Josiah, Debora & Myntti, Cynthia & Augustin, Antoine, 1998. "The "three delays" as a framework for examining maternal mortality in Haiti," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 981-993, April.
    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. Thapa, Deependra Kaji & Niehof, Anke, 2013. "Women's autonomy and husbands' involvement in maternal health care in Nepal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 1-10.
    2. Mullany, Britta C., 2006. "Barriers to and attitudes towards promoting husbands' involvement in maternal health in Katmandu, Nepal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 2798-2809, June.
    3. Uddin, Jalal & Pulok, Mohammad Habibullah & Sabah, Md. Nasim-Us, 2015. "Couple’s reports of household decision-making, unmet need for contraception, and unintended pregnancy in Bangladesh," MPRA Paper 63757, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Hirose, Atsumi & Borchert, Matthias & Niksear, Homa & Alkozai, Ahmad Shah & Cox, Jonathan & Gardiner, Julian & Osmani, Khadija Ruina & Filippi, Véronique, 2011. "Difficulties leaving home: A cross-sectional study of delays in seeking emergency obstetric care in Herat, Afghanistan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(7), pages 1003-1013.
    5. Kibballi Madhukeshwar Akshaya & Siddharudha Shivalli, 2017. "Birth preparedness and complication readiness among the women beneficiaries of selected rural primary health centers of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, August.
    6. Mullany, Britta C. & Hindin, Michelle J. & Becker, Stan, 2005. "Can women's autonomy impede male involvement in pregnancy health in Katmandu, Nepal?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(9), pages 1993-2006, November.
    7. Story, William T. & Burgard, Sarah A., 2012. "Couples’ reports of household decision-making and the utilization of maternal health services in Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2403-2411.
    8. Cook, Cynthia T., 2002. "The effects of skilled health attendants on reducing maternal deaths in developing countries: testing the medical model," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 107-116, May.
    9. D'Ambruoso, Lucia & Byass, Peter & Qomariyah, Siti Nurul & Ouédraogo, Moctar, 2010. "A lost cause? Extending verbal autopsy to investigate biomedical and socio-cultural causes of maternal death in Burkina Faso and Indonesia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(10), pages 1728-1738, November.
    10. Becker, Stan & Fonseca-Becker, Fannie & Schenck-Yglesias, Catherine, 2006. "Husbands' and wives' reports of women's decision-making power in Western Guatemala and their effects on preventive health behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(9), pages 2313-2326, May.
    11. Dotun Ogunyemi & Gabriel Ganyaglo & Godfrey Mugyenyi, 2019. "Maternal Mortality: Case Reviews and Lessons Learned from the Global Partnerships and the Maternal Fetal Medicine Scientific Forum on Global Health," Global Journal of Reproductive Medicine, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 7(1), pages 1-82:7, September.
    12. Brunson, Jan, 2010. "Confronting maternal mortality, controlling birth in Nepal: The gendered politics of receiving biomedical care at birth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(10), pages 1719-1727, November.
    13. Shankar Prinja & Pankaj Bahuguna & P V M Lakshmi & Tushar Mokashi & Arun Kumar Aggarwal & Manmeet Kaur & K Rahul Reddy & Rajesh Kumar, 2014. "Evaluation of Publicly Financed and Privately Delivered Model of Emergency Referral Services for Maternal and Child Health Care in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-11, October.
    14. Ganle, John Kuumuori & Dery, Isaac & Manu, Abubakar A. & Obeng, Bernard, 2016. "‘If I go with him, I can't talk with other women’: Understanding women's resistance to, and acceptance of, men's involvement in maternal and child healthcare in northern Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 195-204.
    15. Gayen, Kaberi & Raeside, Robert, 2007. "Social networks, normative influence and health delivery in rural Bangladesh," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(5), pages 900-914, September.
    16. Lídia Farré, 2013. "The Role of Men in the Economic and Social Development of Women: Implications for Gender Equality," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 22-51, February.
    17. Comrie-Thomson, Liz & Gopal, Prerna & Eddy, Katherine & Baguiya, Adama & Gerlach, Nina & Sauvé, Caroline & Portela, Anayda, 2021. "How do women, men, and health providers perceive interventions to influence men's engagement in maternal and newborn health? A qualitative evidence synthesis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    18. repec:plo:pone00:0155144 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Lillian Whiting-Collins & Florina Serbanescu & Ann-Beth Moller & Susanna Binzen & Jean-Pierre Monet & Jenny A Cresswell & Michel Brun & on behalf of the World Health Organization’s MDSR Reporting and , 2024. "Maternal death surveillance and response system reports from 32 low-middle income countries, 2011–2020: What can we learn from the reports?," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(3), pages 1-17, March.
    20. Kusuma, Dian & Cohen, Jessica & McConnell, Margaret & Berman, Peter, 2016. "Can cash transfers improve determinants of maternal mortality? Evidence from the household and community programs in Indonesia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 10-20.
    21. Murawski, Lisa & Church, Richard L., 2009. "Improving accessibility to rural health services: The maximal covering network improvement problem," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 102-110, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:plo:pone00:0144135. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.