Abstract
Few studies have investigated fathers’ roles in child care in Madagascar. This study explored the perceptions, attitudes, and practices regarding fathers’ involvement in child care using qualitative methods. Ten focus group discussions were conducted among parents of children aged 6–23 months; seven were among mothers, and three among fathers. In-depth semi-structured interviews (n = 8) were also conducted with key informants. Discussions and interviews were audio-recorded and the verbatim transcripts in Malagasy were translated into English. Data were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. Provision of financial and material support as well as teaching and playing with the child were the main perceived roles of fathers. In practice, fathers spent their time alone with their children playing and holding them when the mother was unavailable. Busy schedules and separation due to work were major barriers to fathers’ involvement. Traditional gender roles for child care in which the mother is seen as primarily responsible for the child were salient across the data. Consequently, men involved in child care activities and their wives were often criticized by the community. Nevertheless, there was self-reported interest from both mothers and fathers in involving men more in child care. Interventions aimed to increase fathers’ involvement in child care may be more successful when they focus on shifting the community perceptions on the division of responsibilities between fathers and mothers.
Highlights
The first two years of life offer a unique window of opportunity for a child’s physical growth and development [1,2,3]
The gender role expectations were a salient theme across the data and influenced community perceptions regarding involved fathers and were identified as a barrier to their involvement
Because most of the households had low income, mothers were providing for the family by working as casual laborers
Summary
The first two years of life offer a unique window of opportunity for a child’s physical growth and development [1,2,3]. Appropriate child care practices, such as food preparation and feeding, psychosocial stimulation, hygiene practices, and care during illness [3,4,5] are critical during that period to prevent undernutrition and impaired development. Evidence from subSaharan African countries indicates that such activities are most often performed by the mothers as they are regarded as the primary care providers [6,7,8]. Fathers’ involvement in the highlands of Madagascar. The codebook, along with a few illustrative anonymized quotes, which are considered minimal data, are included in the manuscript
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