Abstract:
In Ghana and other countries of the developing world, men are very influential in
deciding whether their partners visit the antenatal clinic (ANC) or not or they deliver in a
health facility or not. Generally, there is a high ANC coverage in Offinso and Ghana at
large. But as a result of lack of male support during ANC, some pregnant women are not
able to deliver at health facilities. This necessitated the conduct of this study to explore
the influence of male support during ANC on the place of delivery. The main aim of this
study is to find out how male support influence the place of delivery. The study assessed
the level of male support, factors influencing male support and the influence of male
support on the place of delivery.
A cross sectional study design was employed to conduct this study in two hospitals and a
health center in the Offinso South Municipality of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A
structured questionnaire with closed and open ended questions was administered to a total
of 426 respondents (213 couples) aged between 15 to 49 years old. The data was
analyzed using STATA 13.1
The majority of male and female respondents were aged 25-34 and 20-29 years
respectively. The results of this study suggest that more than 80% of both males and their
partners reported that the level of male support during ANC was high. Level of
knowledge about ANC, economic factors, cultural factors of the males and time spent at
the ANC showed some association with male support, but it was statistically not
significant. Both males and their partners reported that 95% of all deliveries occurred in
health facilities. There was no association between male support and the place of delivery. The findings show a high level of male support and high health facility deliveries.
