Male partner involvement on initiation and sustainment of exclusive breastfeeding among HIV‐infected post‐partum women: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected mothers is known to be associated with a sustained and significant reduction in HIV transmission and has the potential to reduce infant and under-five mortality. Research shows that EBF is not common in many HIV-endemic, resource-limited settings despite recommendations by the World Health Organization. Although evidence abounds that male partner involvement increases HIV testing and uptake and retention of prevention of mother-to-child transmission interventions, few studies have evaluated the impact of male partners' involvement and decision-making on initiation, maintenance, and sustainment of EBF. We propose a comparative effectiveness trial of Men's Club as intervention group compared to the control group on initiation and sustainment of EBF. Men's Club will provide male partners of HIV-infected pregnant women one 5-hr interactive educational intervention to increase knowledge on EBF and explore barriers and facilitators of EBF and support. Additionally, participating male partners in the Men's Club as intervention group will receive weekly text message reminders during the first 6-week post-natal period to improve initiation and sustainment of EBF. Participants in the Men's Club as control group will receive only educational pamphlets. Primary outcomes are the differences in the rates of initiation and sustainment of EBF at 6 months between the two groups. Secondary outcomes are differences in male partner knowledge of infant feeding options and the intent to support EBF in the two groups. Understanding the role and impact of male partners on the EBF decisionmaking process will inform the development of effective and sustainable evidence-based interventions to support the initiation and sustainment of EBF.

Women's Empowerment and Determinants of Early Initiation of Breastfeeding: A Scoping Review

“…In a longer term, a regular antenatal care visit positively correlated with exclusive breastfeeding practice (Tariku et al, 2017). On the other hand, we found studies highlighting the significant increase of EIBF practice in mothers who were knowledge-supported by peers, immediate family members, and grandmothers, and accompanied by their husband or partner (Arora, McJunkin, Wehrer, & Kuhn, 2000;Hartmann, Cregan, Ramsay, Simmer, & Kent, 2003;Ihekuna et al, 2018). Thus, inferred mothers' cognitive skills are fundamental in EIBF (Farkas & Lisa-Christine, 2019;Lindsay, Le, & Greaney, 2018).…”

Infant and young child feeding learning sessions during savings groups are feasible and acceptable for HIV‐positive and HIV‐negative women in Malawi

“…In moving forward, more feasible strategies for engaging men in learning about optimal IYCF are needed. Recent and ongoing intervention research and programmes in low‐ and middle‐income countries are using father dialogue groups, men's clubs, fathers' days at clinics, text messages, and home visits to engage men in learning about IYCF separately from women (Bich & Cuong, ; Ihekuna et al, ; Mukuria et al, ; Yourkavitch, Alvey, Prosnitz, & Thomas, ). Successful examples of male engagement strategies could be adapted and provided alongside an intervention targeted at women through VSLAs.…”

Digital Parenting Interventions for Fathers of Infants From Conception to the Age of 12 Months: Systematic Review of Mixed Methods Studies

“…Another 94 articles were excluded at full-text review, leaving the remaining 39 (29%) of the 133 studies that met the inclusion criteria and were included. Notably, 35% (33/94) of the articles were excluded from this review because the digital component was very minor, such as the use of DVDs, PowerPoint presentations, or videotape feedback that were reviewed in face-to-face sessions or phone calls (eg, [59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66]). Another 2% (2/94) of the articles were excluded because of the small percentage of fathers who were included in studies targeting couples (ie, 8.8% and 0.09% fathers; Figure 1) [67,68].…”