Male Partner Involvement in Maternal Health: Perspective of Female Clients Accessing Care at a Tertiary Health Institution in Nigeria

Background: The import of gender roles and support in maternal health is fast gaining global recognition. Gender- based power relations, dimensions of health inequalities and overall maternal survival are linked to levels of partner involvement.

Objective: To assess male partner involvement in maternal health from the perspective of: female clients accessing obstetrics care at a federal medical center (FMC) in Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: Multistage sampling technique were used in enrolling 378 female clients at the Obstetrics clinics FMC Owerri Nigeria, into this health facility based cross-sectional descriptive study. Consenting participants completed via exit- interview, a semi- structured questionnaire designed from relevant literatures. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 with Chi square and Fishers tests at p<0.05.

Results: Majority, 360 (95.2%) of respondents had good knowledge on role of male partners in maternal health, 311 (82.1%) had good perceived knowledge on role by male partners. while 161 (42.6%) reported good level of partner involvement. There are associations between extent of male involvement and age (p= 0.000), marital status (p= 0.044) and highest level of educational attainment (p=0.000) among male partners

Conclusions: This study reveals that despite apparently good level of knowledge on role of males in maternal health by participants and their male partners, there was poor partner involvement, which had associations with age, marital status and highest level of educational attainment. There is need to sustain adequate knowledge of roles in maternal health and ensuring effective male partner involvement via quality couple- based attitudinal change education on maternal health.