Abstract
BackgroundMale partner antenatal clinic (ANC) attendance may improve maternal uptake of maternal child health (MCH) services.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of mother-infant pairs attending week-6 or month-9 infant immunizations at 120 high-volume MCH clinics throughout Kenya. Clinics were selected using probability proportionate to size sampling. Women were interviewed using structured questionnaires and clinical data was verified using MCH booklets. Among married women, survey-weighted logistic regression models accounting for clinic-level clustering were used to compare outcomes by male ANC attendance and to identify its correlates.ResultsAmong 2521 women attending MCH clinics and had information on male partner ANC attendance, 2141 (90%) were married of whom 806 (35%) had male partners that attended ANC. Among married women, male partner ANC attendance was more frequent among women with higher education, women who requested their partners to attend ANC, had male partners with higher education, did not report partner violence, and had disclosed their HIV status (p < 0·001 for each). Additionally, male ANC attendance was associated with higher uptake of ANC visits [adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1·67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·36–2·05,], skilled delivery (AOR = 2·00, 95% CI 1·51–2·64), exclusive breastfeeding (AOR = 1·70, 95% CI 1·00–2·91), infant Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) immunization (AOR = 3·59, 95% CI 1·00–12·88), and among HIV-infected women, antiretroviral drugs (aOR = 6·16, 95% CI 1·26–30·41).ConclusionInvolving male partners in MCH activities amplifies benefits of MCH services by engaging partner support for maternal uptake of services.
Highlights
Male partner antenatal clinic (ANC) attendance may improve maternal uptake of maternal child health (MCH) services
Study population Of 2521 mother-infant pairs enrolled, analyses were done on 2141 women (90%) who were married and had partner attendance data
Among 158 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected women who had partner ANC attendance data, male ANC attendance was associated with a significantly higher prevalence of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) use for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT); both self-reported [adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 6·16 (1·26– 30·41), p = 0·026] and as verified in the MCH booklet [AOR = 5·50 (0·99–30.40), p = 0·051] (Table 4)
Summary
Male partner antenatal clinic (ANC) attendance may improve maternal uptake of maternal child health (MCH) services. Maternal and child health (MCH) services are widely available in sub-Saharan Africa, maternal and infant mortality and morbidity remain unacceptably high [1, 2]. In Kenya, as in other low resource settings, socioeconomic and cultural factors limit women’s autonomy to access maternal and infant health services [2, 5, 6]. Understanding the role played by men and the need to involve male partners in MCH services has become more widely recognized [7, 8]. Enabling men to visit ANC provides an opportunity to educate men on maternal and child health while fostering their favorable attitudes toward access of services [12, 13]. Male partner ANC attendance is often low and efforts to encourage it may be suboptimal [15, 19, 20]
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