Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May 22:7:100513.
doi: 10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100513. eCollection 2024 Jun.

A phenomenological qualitative study of male-partners perspectives of maternity waiting homes in rural Ethiopia

Teklemariam Ergat Yarinbab  1   2 , Hailay Abrha Gesesew  3   4 , Tefera Belachew  5
Affiliations

A phenomenological qualitative study of male-partners perspectives of maternity waiting homes in rural Ethiopia

Teklemariam Ergat Yarinbab et al. Public Health Pract (Oxf). .

Abstract

Background: The implementation of maternity waiting home (MWH) has been used as a strategy to improve maternal health outcomes in low-resource settings such as Ethiopia. However, MWH utilization is low in Ethiopia, and women's access to MWH depends largely on male partners' decisions. This study explored male-partners perspectives of MWHs including their experiences of paternal support in rural Ethiopia.

Study design: An exploratory qualitative study with a phenomenological methodological orientation was performed.

Methods: This study was conducted in Ana-Lemo and Gibe districts of Hadiya Zone, in rural Southern Ethiopia. The study participants were male partners. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 47 participants. Data were collected from May 10-25, 2023. Four focus group discussions, 15 in-depth interviews, and observations were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and the thematic content analysis was performed using ATLAS.ti 7.1.4 software.

Results: This study showed that male-partners participated in spousal communication and provided practical support such as sharing household chores and financial support; however, they did not accompany their spouses to health facilities. Long distances, lack of transportation, poor referral services, and perceived poor quality of care were barriers to maternal health services. Furthermore, male-partners demonstrated poor awareness and unfavorable attitudes of MWHs.

Conclusions: Male-partners participated in spousal communication, shared household chores and provided financial support to their spouses; however, they did not accompany them to health facilities. They had poor awareness and unfavorable attitudes of MWHs. Creating awareness among male partners may improve their attitude towards MWHs and other maternal health services in rural Ethiopia.

Keywords: Ethiopia; Male partners; Maternal health; Maternity waiting home; Paternal support; Qualitative research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Codes & themes flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. World Health Organization . WHO; 2015. WHO Recommendations on Health Promotion Interventions for Maternal and Newborn Health 2015; p. 94.https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241508742 [Internet] - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . WHO; 1996. Maternity Waiting Homes: a Review of Experiences [Internet] p. 40.https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/63432
    1. Gaym A., Pearson L., Soe K.W.W. Maternity waiting homes in Ethiopia: three decades experience. Ethiop. Med. J. 2012;50(3):209–219. - PubMed
    1. Kassa B.G., Ayele A.D., Belay H.G., et al. Utilisation of maternity waiting homes and its associated factors in Ethiopia: systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Clin Epidemiol Glob Heal. 2021;12:1–8. doi: 10.1016/j.cegh.2021.100891. - DOI
    1. Girma W., Tamiru D., Woldie M., et al. Exploring the experience and challenges of maternity waiting homes in Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia. Afr. J. Midwifery Women's Health. 2021;15(1):1–11. doi: 10.12968/ajmw.2020.0007. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources