Male invovlement in their partner's pregnancy and childbirth

An exploratory study in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh, India

Master's Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject Medicine - Public Health, , course: Masters in Public health, language: English, abstract: Male involvement has shown to yield positive results in the health of the women and their children, according to many studies conducted earlier in India and Abroad. This study thus subscribes to the hypothesis that interventions that include men during pregnancy and childbirth has greater and positive impact on maternal and child health. Taking references from similar studies which assessed male involvement in either qualitative or quantitative fashion, this study utilizes mixed methods wherein the quantitative data and qualitative data were collected concurrently to understand Male involvement in terms of Awareness levels, reproductive health patterns, preferences and perception regarding the health care services available, factors influencing health services seeking behavior, male partner's support during all the significant events during pregnancy, delivery and childcare, financial and emotional support from the male partner, assistance obtained from 'Mitanins', Auxiliary nurse midwives, 'Anganwad'i workers, Doctors, and assistance derived from the social network, i.e Neighbors and family members. The findings of the study maybe useful further to frame appropriate and relevant policies to encourage male involvement in their partner's pregnancy and childbirth.