Husbands’ participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness and associated factors in Wolaita Sodo town, Southern Ethiopia

Minyahil Tadesse,Benedict O Asamoah,Andualem T Boltena

doi:10.4102/phcfm.v10i1.1471

Abstract

BackgroundThe poor emphasis on the role of husbands in birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) is a major factor that should be addressed in tackling maternal mortality.AimTo assess the level of husbands’ participation in BPCR and associated factors.SettingWolaita Sodo town, Southern Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 608 husbands of pregnant women and nursing mothers. Multivariate logistic regression model was used for the analysis.ResultsForty-five per cent of husbands studied had poor participation in BPCR. Out of the total husbands studied, 40% (235) did not identify transportation, 49% (291) did not accompany their wives to antenatal care (ANC) clinic, 59% (350) did not identify skilled birth attendant, 26% (155) did not identify health facility for delivery and 30% (179) did not save money for emergency. Only 42% (250) of husbands had awareness of emergency conditions, while 75% (444) did not make postpartum plan. Husbands who knew the place of birth of the baby [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 7.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.98–17.54] and those who discussed with their wives about birth preparedness (AOR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.37–3.02) were significantly more likely to participate in BPCR compared to those who did not.ConclusionParticipation of husbands in BPCR was poor in the study area. The level of participation in relation to selection of service provider and health facility, financial and transportation planning for delivery and identifying blood donor needs attention to achieve better husband participation in BPCR.

Highlights

Maternal mortality is one of the most sensitive indicators of health disparity among low, middle- and high-income countries and remains largely a major contributor to unmet public health concerns globally
This study has shown that approximately half of the husbands were either not participating at all or had poor participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) as they were practising four or less elements of the nine items during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period
This finding indicates higher percentage of husbands not participating in BPCR compared with the study conducted in Mekele town, Northern Ethiopia, in which the husbands who participated in BPCR constituted 40%

Summary

Introduction

Maternal mortality is one of the most sensitive indicators of health disparity among low-, middle- and high-income countries and remains largely a major contributor to unmet public health concerns globally. Remarkable disparities in maternal deaths exist between and within countries, with wide variations between the rich and the poor, and urban and rural areas.[1,2] For instance, in 2015, the risk of losing one’s life through pregnancy in the sub-Saharan African region was 1:36 compared to the global average lifetime risk of 1:180. Estimates from 2015 indicated that 546 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births were recorded in sub-Saharan Africa compared to 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births worldwide.[1,3] With the new global sustainability agenda, more effort and marked acceleration in progress are needed to achieve the sustainable development goal (SDG) 3.1, which seeks to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100 000 live births.[1] The major causes of maternal deaths are severe bleeding, pregnancy-induced hypertension, infections, obstructed labour, unsafe abortion and other pre-existing conditions exacerbated by pregnancy. The poor emphasis on the role of husbands in birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) is a major factor that should be addressed in tackling maternal mortality

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