To ensure the relevance and importance of antenatal education classes, in light of male involvement, an assessment of men’s needs in terms of topics is required.
It appears few studies have been conducted about the information needs of expectant father, particularly in low and middle-income countries where male involvement in maternal health is an emerging phenomenon.
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In contrast, in Nigeria, women wanted their spouses to learn about the effects of pregnancy on the woman, how to care for a pregnant woman, how to be patient and understanding with their partner and sex during pregnancy. However, in Sweden women wanted more information on postpartum needs such as breastfeeding problems, while men’s information needs were baby care skills, sexuality and relationships. Similarly, studies in low and middle-income countries have documented pregnancy, labour and delivery, postpartum care for the mother and baby, relationships, sex during and after birth, communication and the role of men during the perinatal period as preferred topics to be taught to men and women during antenatal education. Although preferred content for antenatal education may vary within and between regions, reported topics of interest for women globally include pregnancy and its care labour, delivery and postpartum care of the mother and baby role of women during the perinatal period and psychosocial aspects of pregnancy. While studies have been conducted on antenatal education, the focus has been on information needs for women and only a few on male partners and couples with the majority of the studies done in high-income countries. Furthermore the information that these fathers need to know remains unclear. Despite this recognition, evidence suggests that there is suboptimal information within antenatal education for expectant fathers.
This argument is supported by the rationale that men are likely to participate in maternal and child health issues and fulfill their supportive roles as husbands and partners if they are knowledgeable about pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting. Globally, antenatal education has focused on women and recently male involvement in maternal health services including antenatal education has been advocated. Additionally, in low and middle-income countries where traditional beliefs may be more important, antenatal education can be used as a tool to dispel myths associated with child birth. Through health information obtained from antenatal education sessions, women and their families are prepared for pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood. Men and women had similar choices of topics to be taught during couple antenatal education, with some minor variations.Īntenatal education is one of the pillars of antenatal care which aims at improving the health of mothers, babies and their families. Hence, if both men and women were to participate in antenatal education, their information needs should be prioritized. ConclusionĪntenatal education is a potential platform to disseminate information and discuss with male partners the childbearing period and early parenting. Preferred topics were description of pregnancy, care of pregnant women, role of men during perinatal period, family life birth preparedness and complication readiness plan, coitus during pregnancy and after delivery, childbirth and baby care. The theme had three subthemes which were identified based on the three domains of the maternity cycle which are pregnancy, labour and delivery and postpartum period. We identified one overarching theme: couple antenatal education information needs. We managed data with NVivo 10.0 and used the thematic content approach as a guide for analysis. All the interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and translated from Chichewa, the local language, into English. We also conducted one focus group discussion with nurses/ midwives, 13 key informant interviews whose participants were drawn from both health-related and non-health related institutions 10 in-depth interviews with couples and 10 separate in-depth interviews with men who had attended antenatal clinics before with their spouses. We conducted four focus group discussions (FGDs) among men and women independently. MethodsĪn exploratory cross sectional descriptive study using a qualitative approach was conducted in semi-urban areas of Blantyre District in Malawi from February to August 2016.
This is needed for the development of a tailor-made curriculum for couple antenatal education in the country, later to be tested for acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness. The objective of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the education content for couples during antenatal education sessions in Malawi. Despite advocating for male involvement in antenatal education, there is unmet need for antenatal education information for expectant couples.
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