Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental study
Abstract Background The World Health Organization recommends that programs that seek to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes actively involve men during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. However, there is little evidence on what strategies work to increase male knowledge of and involvem...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Women's Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-02032-1 |
| _version_ | 1798016774622412800 |
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| author | Anastasia J. Gage Francine E. Wood Madeline Woo Rianne Gay |
| author_facet | Anastasia J. Gage Francine E. Wood Madeline Woo Rianne Gay |
| author_sort | Anastasia J. Gage |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The World Health Organization recommends that programs that seek to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes actively involve men during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. However, there is little evidence on what strategies work to increase male knowledge of and involvement in antenatal and postnatal care. This study assessed the impact of the Momentum project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care. The project involved monthly home visits to a cohort of first-time mothers aged 15–24 recruited at six-months gestation and group education sessions for their male partners using the Program P toolkit. Participants were followed-up for 16 months. Methods The study used a quasi-experimental design with three intervention and three comparison health zones. Baseline data were collected in 2018 and endline data in 2020. Exploratory factor analysis was used to develop scales of male involvement. We measured the causal influence of Momentum using an intent-to-treat analysis at the health-zone level and a dose–response analysis at the individual level. We used random-effects probit and linear models for outcomes measured at baseline and endline, and treatment effects models with inverse-probability weighting for outcomes measured only at endline. The impact analysis involved 1,204 male partners of first-time mothers with live births. Results Intervention health zones were associated with an 18.1 percentage point (95% CI [(10.6, 25.6]) increase in knowledge of three or more obstetric danger signs and a 13.9 percentage point (95% CI [6.3, 21.6]) increase in knowledge of newborn danger signs. Significant increases in male involvement in antenatal care (average treatment effect (ATE) = 0.728, 95% CI [0.445, 1.010]), birth planning (ATE = 0.407, 95% CI [0.157, 0.657]), and newborn care (ATE = 0.690, 95% CI [0.359, 1.021]) were found. The magnitude of Momentum’s impact increased steadily with the number of prenatal home visits and was statistically significant for all behavioral outcomes except shared decision making. Exposure to both home visits and group education sessions during the prenatal period had a significant impact on all outcomes relative to no exposure. Conclusions The study demonstrated the effectiveness of Momentum on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T15:56:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bb60f33ef5924501be1546724a770385 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6874 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T15:56:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Women's Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-bb60f33ef5924501be1546724a7703852022-12-22T04:15:10ZengBMCBMC Women's Health1472-68742022-11-0122111810.1186/s12905-022-02032-1Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental studyAnastasia J. Gage0Francine E. Wood1Madeline Woo2Rianne Gay3Department of International Health and Sustainable Development, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane UniversityCenter on Gender Equity and Health, University of California San DiegoDepartment of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane UniversityTulane International, LLCAbstract Background The World Health Organization recommends that programs that seek to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes actively involve men during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. However, there is little evidence on what strategies work to increase male knowledge of and involvement in antenatal and postnatal care. This study assessed the impact of the Momentum project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care. The project involved monthly home visits to a cohort of first-time mothers aged 15–24 recruited at six-months gestation and group education sessions for their male partners using the Program P toolkit. Participants were followed-up for 16 months. Methods The study used a quasi-experimental design with three intervention and three comparison health zones. Baseline data were collected in 2018 and endline data in 2020. Exploratory factor analysis was used to develop scales of male involvement. We measured the causal influence of Momentum using an intent-to-treat analysis at the health-zone level and a dose–response analysis at the individual level. We used random-effects probit and linear models for outcomes measured at baseline and endline, and treatment effects models with inverse-probability weighting for outcomes measured only at endline. The impact analysis involved 1,204 male partners of first-time mothers with live births. Results Intervention health zones were associated with an 18.1 percentage point (95% CI [(10.6, 25.6]) increase in knowledge of three or more obstetric danger signs and a 13.9 percentage point (95% CI [6.3, 21.6]) increase in knowledge of newborn danger signs. Significant increases in male involvement in antenatal care (average treatment effect (ATE) = 0.728, 95% CI [0.445, 1.010]), birth planning (ATE = 0.407, 95% CI [0.157, 0.657]), and newborn care (ATE = 0.690, 95% CI [0.359, 1.021]) were found. The magnitude of Momentum’s impact increased steadily with the number of prenatal home visits and was statistically significant for all behavioral outcomes except shared decision making. Exposure to both home visits and group education sessions during the prenatal period had a significant impact on all outcomes relative to no exposure. Conclusions The study demonstrated the effectiveness of Momentum on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-02032-1Male involvementMaternal healthNewborn careGenderAntenatal care |
| spellingShingle | Anastasia J. Gage Francine E. Wood Madeline Woo Rianne Gay Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental study BMC Women's Health Male involvement Maternal health Newborn care Gender Antenatal care |
| title | Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental study |
| title_full | Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental study |
| title_fullStr | Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental study |
| title_short | Impact of the Momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a quasi-experimental study |
| title_sort | impact of the momentum pilot project on male involvement in maternal health and newborn care in kinshasa democratic republic of the congo a quasi experimental study |
| topic | Male involvement Maternal health Newborn care Gender Antenatal care |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-02032-1 |
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