Pregnancy and after: what women want from their partners – listening to women in Uyo, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: A qualitative survey was conducted among childbearing women at three public health facilities in Uyo, Nigeria. We aimed to determine (i) women’s expectations of partner support during pregnancy and the postpartum period; (ii) predictors of partner presence during childbirth. Methods: From May to mid-July 2011, 387 eligible women were recruited serially during visits to the child welfare clinic at each facility. Interviews were conducted using semistructured questionnaires. Responses were extracted and categorized into eight distinct themes with corresponding examples. Results and discussion: The most desired form of partner support was assistance with domestic chores during and after pregnancy; followed by financial support during pregnancy and providing/caring for the baby in the postpartum period. Partner support during pregnancy was high 98.0% (351). While 73% of respondents expected partner presence during childbirth, 69.4% reported actual partner presence. Women with no experience of pregnancy before marriage, a husband in formal employment, and regular assistance at home had a two- to three-fold likelihood of expecting partner presence at childbirth compared to those without these attributes. Expecting partner presence increased the likelihood of partner presence at childbirth. Results suggest that women have specific expectations of partner involvement during and after pregnancy.

Keywords::

• Childbirth
• pregnancy
• psychological well-being
• women’s health

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge with gratitude the mothers who participated in this study for giving their time and reflections. This work is dedicated to you and all women. We are also grateful to the management and staff of the child welfare units of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Anua and Maternal and Child Health Unit, Barracks Road for their support.

Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Current knowledge on this subject

• Lack of social support is a risk factor for poor maternal health during pregnancy.

• A woman’s partner is a primary source of social support and can influence the birth experience.

• Although partner support during labor has been well studied, but the maternal expectations during and after pregnancy is under-investigated in developing countries.

What this study adds

• Women who have not had a birth experience before marriage, had husbands in formal employment and regular assistance at home were two to three times more likely to expect their partners to be present during childbirth compared to those without these attributes.

• Expecting partner presence at birth was highly predictive of actual partner presence at birth.

• Partner presence at birth was associated with the absence of complications but did not have an independent effect.