Tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health
Abstract Background Male support for partners’ antenatal care (ANC) has the potential to improve women’s care-seeking and maternal health outcomes. This study describes factors that are associated with men’s involvement in household tasks and explores the relationship between men’s help with tasks a...
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doaj-448b9ee6537242b0b5339f700e8350612021-10-03T11:47:14ZengBMCBMC Pregnancy and Childbirth1471-23932021-09-012111810.1186/s12884-021-04147-zTanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal healthEmily Chahalis0Josie McGhie1Generose Mulokozi2Shannon Barham3Carter Chappell4Charisse Schenk5Mary Linehan6Scott Torres7Kirk A. Dearden8Josh H. West9P. Cougar Hall10Benjamin T. Crookston11Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityIMA World HealthBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityIMA World HealthRTI InternationalIMA World HealthBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityAbstract Background Male support for partners’ antenatal care (ANC) has the potential to improve women’s care-seeking and maternal health outcomes. This study describes factors that are associated with men’s involvement in household tasks and explores the relationship between men’s help with tasks and women’s ANC-seeking, diet and workload during pregnancy as well as other health behaviors. Methods This study was conducted in five Lake Zone regions of Tanzania. Cross-sectional surveys were carried out among approximately 10,000 households that had children under the age of 2 years. Surveys were administered to mothers of children less than 2 years and where available, their male partners. Data were collected between December 2015 and May 2020, in conjunction with a large-scale campaign aimed at reducing childhood stunting by changing the behavior of mothers, caregivers, and decision makers. Data analysis included bivariate analysis and logistic regression modeling. Results Men’s engagement in household activities was significantly associated with living in an urban setting, being younger, having at least some formal schooling, early verbal interactions with their children, and male involvement in healthcare decisions. Additionally, mothers of male partners that were engaged in household activities were significantly older and more likely to have at least some secondary school education. Relative to households where men only infrequently helped out with chores or not at all, women from households where men frequently helped were significantly more likely to have taken iron tablets during pregnancy, report having eaten more than usual, lessening their household workload during their most recent pregnancy, and more likely to have played with their child in the week prior to the survey. Conclusion Male’s participation in household tasks is associated with a general improvement in mother’s ANC behaviors. Implicit in these findings is that general primary education for both men and women has health benefits that transcend socioeconomic class and that future interventions aimed to engage males in household tasks may target older males with less education living in rural areas.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-04147-zAntenatal carePregnancyMale involvementDietWorkloadMale engagement |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Emily Chahalis Josie McGhie Generose Mulokozi Shannon Barham Carter Chappell Charisse Schenk Mary Linehan Scott Torres Kirk A. Dearden Josh H. West P. Cougar Hall Benjamin T. Crookston |
spellingShingle |
Emily Chahalis Josie McGhie Generose Mulokozi Shannon Barham Carter Chappell Charisse Schenk Mary Linehan Scott Torres Kirk A. Dearden Josh H. West P. Cougar Hall Benjamin T. Crookston Tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth Antenatal care Pregnancy Male involvement Diet Workload Male engagement |
author_facet |
Emily Chahalis Josie McGhie Generose Mulokozi Shannon Barham Carter Chappell Charisse Schenk Mary Linehan Scott Torres Kirk A. Dearden Josh H. West P. Cougar Hall Benjamin T. Crookston |
author_sort |
Emily Chahalis |
title |
Tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health |
title_short |
Tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health |
title_full |
Tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health |
title_fullStr |
Tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health |
title_sort |
tanzanian men’s engagement in household chores is associated with improved antenatal care seeking and maternal health |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth |
issn |
1471-2393 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
Abstract Background Male support for partners’ antenatal care (ANC) has the potential to improve women’s care-seeking and maternal health outcomes. This study describes factors that are associated with men’s involvement in household tasks and explores the relationship between men’s help with tasks and women’s ANC-seeking, diet and workload during pregnancy as well as other health behaviors. Methods This study was conducted in five Lake Zone regions of Tanzania. Cross-sectional surveys were carried out among approximately 10,000 households that had children under the age of 2 years. Surveys were administered to mothers of children less than 2 years and where available, their male partners. Data were collected between December 2015 and May 2020, in conjunction with a large-scale campaign aimed at reducing childhood stunting by changing the behavior of mothers, caregivers, and decision makers. Data analysis included bivariate analysis and logistic regression modeling. Results Men’s engagement in household activities was significantly associated with living in an urban setting, being younger, having at least some formal schooling, early verbal interactions with their children, and male involvement in healthcare decisions. Additionally, mothers of male partners that were engaged in household activities were significantly older and more likely to have at least some secondary school education. Relative to households where men only infrequently helped out with chores or not at all, women from households where men frequently helped were significantly more likely to have taken iron tablets during pregnancy, report having eaten more than usual, lessening their household workload during their most recent pregnancy, and more likely to have played with their child in the week prior to the survey. Conclusion Male’s participation in household tasks is associated with a general improvement in mother’s ANC behaviors. Implicit in these findings is that general primary education for both men and women has health benefits that transcend socioeconomic class and that future interventions aimed to engage males in household tasks may target older males with less education living in rural areas. |
topic |
Antenatal care Pregnancy Male involvement Diet Workload Male engagement |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-04147-z |
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