Male Partner Involvement in Postnatal Care Service Utilization and its Associated Factors in Wolaita Sodo town, Southern Ethiopia, 2023

Fikre Moga Lencha ^1* Aklilu Adisu ² Wubshet Estifanos ¹ Genet Asefa ¹ Addisalem Haile ¹ Fekadu Abera Kebede ³

• ¹ Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia
• ² Wolaita Sodo University, Sodo, Ethiopia
• ³ Oda Bultum University, Chiro, Ethiopia

Background: Involvement of male partners in postnatal care is an effective approach to improving maternal and child health outcomes. Despite this, it has been perceived as a woman's responsibility and continues to be a significant problem in developing countries, including Ethiopia. Also, there is a paucity of evidence regarding male involvement during postnatal care in Ethiopia, particularly in the study area. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the current status of male partner's involvement in postnatal care and associated factors in the study area Wolaita Sodo town, southern Ethiopia, 2023.A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted on 629 participants from April 1 st to May 1 st , 2023, using a multistage sampling technique. A pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered into Epi data version 4.6 and exported to the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to identify factors associated with male partner involvement during postnatal care. The level of significant association in the multivariable analysis was determined based on a p-value of < 0.05.Results: This study found that 32.95% (95% CI: 29.2, 36.8) of male partners are involved in postnatal care service utilization. Maternal higher educational level [AOR: 2.95, 95% CI: 1.76, 4.94], good knowledge on postnatal care service [AOR: 3.2, 95% CI: 1.93, 5.3], good knowledge on danger signs and complications [AOR: 4.5, 95% CI: 2.39, 8.48], favorable attitude [AOR: 4.02, 95% CI: 2.50, 6.45], distance [AOR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.15, 3.17], and caesarean delivery [AOR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.39, 4.60] were significantly associated with male partner involvement in postnatal care service.In this study, a male partner's involvement in their spouse's Postnatal Care(PNC) service utilization was found to be low. Maternal educational status, good knowledge on postnatal care service (PNC), on danger signs and complications, favorable attitude, distance and caesarean delivery were associated with male partner. Therefore, strengthening awareness creation about postnatal care services and danger signs through health education and promoting a positive attitude towards postnatal services are essential.