Male involvement as a significant contributor for enhancing maternal and child health-care services: A scoping review

Abstract

Men have conventionally been excluded from Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services, thereby reinforcing the erroneous notion that pregnancy and the processes leading to childbirth and child-rearing are the preserve of women. Participation of men in MCH is crucial for the reduction of infant and maternal mortality. This scoping review focuses on the contribution of male involvement to MCH care and explores the feasible strategies to improve it. Studies on male involvement in the crucial timelines of the MCH and strategies for implementing and improving male involvement in MCH care in India and other developing countries were obtained through a review of literature in PubMed databases using the medical subject headings (MeSH) terms and unpublished, grey literature during the year 1990-2020. Nearly 50 of the eligible articles were included and synthesized into a scoping review report. Findings revealed that the men's participation had a beneficial impact on all crucial timelines of MCH care. Yet, women perceived low male participation in most of the studies. Several different factors that influence have been identified, including education, socioeconomic status, traditional practices, negative stereotyping among males, and lack of male friendly health-care system. Utilization of community volunteers, male peer educators, workplace-based or mass media education, and men-friendly policy changes or health-care provider initiatives could be crucial in improving male involvement in MCH care. Despite worldwide acceptance as an essential contributor to enhancing MCH care, the scoping review revealed low male involvement levels in developing countries and identified strategies to address this lacuna.