The Influence of Male Support During Antenatal Care on the Place of Delivery in the Offinso South Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Ghana

ABSTRACT

In Ghana and other countries of the developing world, men are very influential in deciding whether their partners visit the antenatal clinic (ANC) or not or they deliver in a health facility or not. Generally, there is a high ANC coverage in Offinso and Ghana at large. But as a result of lack of male support during ANC, some pregnant women are not able to deliver at health facilities. This necessitated the conduct of this study to explore the influence of male support during ANC on the place of delivery. The main aim of this study is to find out how male support influence the place of delivery. The study assessed the level of male support, factors influencing male support and the influence of male support on the place of delivery.

A cross sectional study design was employed to conduct this study in two hospitals and a health center in the Offinso South Municipality of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A structured questionnaire with closed and open ended questions was administered to a total of 426 respondents (213 couples) aged between 15 to 49 years old. The data was analyzed using STATA 13.1 The majority of male and female respondents were aged 25-34 and 20-29 years respectively. The results of this study suggest that more than 80% of both males and their partners reported that the level of male support during ANC was high. Level of knowledge about ANC, economic factors, cultural factors of the males and time spent at the ANC showed some association with male support, but it was statistically not significant. Both males and their partners reported that 95% of all deliveries occurred in health facilities. There was no association between male support and the place of delivery. The findings show a high level of male support and high health facility deliveries.