Knowledge and involvement of husbands in maternal and newborn health in rural Bangladesh

Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

Mhajabin

et al. 2019

Self Cite

The World Health Organization has recently set standards emphasising the importance of emotional support during birth for improving the quality of maternal and newborn healthcare in facilities. In this study, we explore the emotional support status of women during birth in rural Bangladesh. A cross-sectional household survey of 1367 women was administered in 2018 in Brahmanbaria district. Outcomes of interest included: presence of a companion of choice; mobility; intake of fluids and food; and position of choice. Associations between outcomes of interest and background characteristics were explored through binary and multiple logistic regressions. Approximately 68% women had a companion of choice during labour or childbirth, significantly higher among women giving birth at home (75%) than in a health facility. Nearly 60% women were allowed to eat and drink during labour, also significantly higher among women giving birth at home. Seventy-per cent women were allowed to be ambulatory during labour (46% in a facility vs. 85% at home). Only 27% women were offered or allowed to give birth in the position of their choice at facility, compared to 54% giving birth at home. Among women giving birth in a facility who did not have a companion of choice, 39% reported that the health provider/health facility management did not allow this. Ensuring emotional support and thereby improving the quality of the experience of care within health facilities should be prioritised by the Bangladesh government both to improve health outcomes of women and newborns and also to promote more humanised, positive childbirth experiences.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humanised childbirth: the status of emotional support of women in rural Bangladesh

Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

Mhajabin

et al. 2019

Self Cite

“…37,38 Our findings suggest that although husbands and other family members may be important in the decisions around choosing place of birth in Brahmanbaria, this is not the primary barrier to facility birth and seems to play a lesser role than in some other settings, particularly in Africa. Other studies from Bangladesh have suggested that men play an important role in care seeking for maternal and newborn health services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Other studies from Bangladesh have suggested that men play an important role in care seeking for maternal and newborn health services. 37,38 Our findings suggest that although husbands and other family members may be important in the decisions around choosing place of birth in Brahmanbaria, this is not the primary barrier to facility birth and seems to play a lesser role than in some other settings, particularly in Africa. 39,40 Programs should include husbands and family members in activities promoting women's empowerment, so that their preferences regarding place of birth are respected and realized.…”

Section: F I G U R Ementioning

confidence: 73%

Opting for home birth in rural Bangladesh: An assessment of the current status and reasons

Siddique

et al. 2018

Birth

Self Cite

Background: In Bangladesh, over half of women give birth at home, generally without the support of a skilled birth attendant. In this article, we examined the decisionmaking around birthplace and explored the reported reasons of preferring home birth over facility birth in a rural district of Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional household survey with 1367 women was conducted in Brahmanbaria district. Choice of birthplace and actual place of birth were the main outcomes of interest. Associations between the outcomes of interest and background characteristics were analyzed through binary logistic regression. Effects of the covariates and confounders were adjusted through multiple logistic regression. Results: Sixty-four percent of women planned to give birth at home, and 62% gave birth at home. Planning to give birth at home was significantly associated with eventually giving birth at home (AOR [CI]: 4.93 [3.79-6.43]). Multiparous women and women from larger households were significantly more likely to give birth at home, whereas more educated and wealthier women and those attending antenatal care were significantly less likely to give birth at home. The main reported reasons for home birth were perceived lack of importance of facility birth, financial reasons, fear of cesarean section, and not being permitted by a husband of other family member to seek facility birth. Conclusions: Home is the preferred birthplace and main actual place of birth in rural Bangladesh. The maternal health program of Bangladesh should look critically at the preferences of women and reasons for those preferences for further promotion of skilled attendance at birth in rural settings.

“…However, few studies to date have examined the preferences of women regarding their husbands'/male partners' involvement in MNH care and how husbands' reported involvement compare to women's preferences, and the decisionmaking dynamics within the household. Bangladesh tends to be characterized by being a patriarchal society in which pregnancy and childbirth are typically relegated to the women's sphere [18,23,36]. However, the results of our study indicate that women in rural Bangladesh would like to enjoy a high level of involvement of their husbands across various areas of MNH care which include assisting in self-care during pregnancy, participating in planning for birth and potential complications, accompanying to health services, and caring for the newborn.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Then measures of association between different explanatory variables were tested through binary logistic regression. The effect of covariates and known confounders were adjusted by multiple logistic regression models for the following factors: age, education, religion, parity, husband's living status, women's involvement in income generating activities, wealth quintile, joint decision-making and women's preferences [36][37][38][39]. All odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were reported with 95% confidence intervals (CI).…”

Section: Supporting Women In Self-care During Pregnancymentioning

confidence: 99%

What do women want? An analysis of preferences of women, involvement of men, and decision-making in maternal and newborn health care in rural Bangladesh

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

Salam

et al. 2020

Self Cite

Background: To improve the utilization of maternal and newborn health (MNH) care and to improve the quality of care, the World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly recommended men's involvement in pregnancy, childbirth, and after birth. In this article, we examine women's preferences for men's involvement in MNH care in rural Bangladesh and how this compares to husbands' reported involvement by women. Methods: A cross-sectional household survey of 1367 women was administered in 2018 in the district of Brahmanbaria. Outcomes of interest included supporting self-care during pregnancy, participation in birth planning, presence during antenatal care, childbirth, and postnatal care, and participation in newborn care. Binary and multiple logistic regressions were done to understand the associations between the outcomes of interest and background characteristics. Results: Although women preferred a high level of involvement of their husbands in MNH care, husbands' reported involvement varied across different categories of involvement. However, women's preferences were closely associated with husbands' reported involvement. Around three-quarters of the women reported having been the primary decision makers or reported that they made the decisions jointly with their husbands. The likelihood of women reporting their husbands were actively involved in MNH care was 2.89 times higher when the women preferred their husbands to be involved in 3-4 aspects of MNH care. The likelihood increased to 3.65 times when the women preferred their husbands to be involved in 5-6 aspects. Similarly, the likelihood of husbands' reported active involvement was 1.43 times higher when they jointly participated in 1-2 categories of decisionmaking. The likelihood increased to 2.02 times when they jointly participated in all three categories.(Continued on next page)