Department of Development Studies, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India.
J Biosoc Sci. 2012 Mar;44(2):129-53. doi: 10.1017/S0021932011000502. Epub 2011 Oct 18.
Men's supportive stance is an essential component for making women's world better. There are growing debates among policymakers and researchers on the role of males in maternal health programmes, which is a big challenge in India where society is male driven. This study aims to look into the variations and determinants of maternal health care utilization in India and in three demographically and socioeconomically disparate states, namely Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, by husband's knowledge, attitude, behaviour towards maternal health care and gender violence, using data from the National Family Health Survey III 2005-06 (equivalent to the Demographic and Health Survey in India). Women's antenatal care visits, institutional delivery and freedom in health care decisions are looked into, by applying descriptive statistics and multivariate models. Men's knowledge about pregnancy-related care and a positive gender attitude enhances maternal health care utilization and women's decision-making about their health care, while their presence during antenatal care visits markedly increases the chances of women's delivery in institutions. From a policy perspective, proper dissemination of knowledge about maternal health care among husbands and making the husband's presence obligatory during antenatal care visits will help primary health care units secure better male involvement in maternal health care.
男性的支持立场是改善女性世界的重要组成部分。政策制定者和研究人员越来越关注男性在孕产妇保健计划中的作用，这在印度是一个巨大的挑战，因为印度社会以男性为主导。本研究旨在通过丈夫对孕产妇保健的知识、态度和行为以及性别暴力来研究印度和三个人口和社会经济差异较大的邦（北方邦、西孟加拉邦和马哈拉施特拉邦）的孕产妇保健利用情况的变化和决定因素，数据来自于 2005-06 年全国家庭健康调查 III（相当于印度的人口与健康调查）。通过应用描述性统计和多元模型，研究了妇女的产前护理就诊、机构分娩和医疗决策自由情况。男性对与妊娠相关的护理的了解和积极的性别态度会增加孕产妇保健的利用和妇女对其保健的决策，而他们在产前护理就诊时的存在显著增加了妇女在机构分娩的机会。从政策角度来看，在丈夫中适当传播有关孕产妇保健的知识，并规定丈夫在产前护理就诊时必须在场，将有助于基层医疗单位更好地让男性参与孕产妇保健。
