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

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were obtained through a review of literature in PubMed databases using the medical subject headings (MeSH) terms and unpublished, grey literature during the year 1990-2020.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.

Assessment on Quality of Healthcare Services during Childbirth: A Community-based Mixed-method Study in the Women of Puducherry.

Background: A women's right to a positive childbirth experience should be the heart of any care provided. To assess the quality of childbirth services and mistreatment by healthcare providers among reproductive age group women and to explore factors influencing the same between women and stakeholders. Material and Methods: A community-based, mixed-method study was conducted from April to September 2021 in field practice areas of a medical college in Puducherry district. The sample size for the quantitative study was 348 and the women were chosen using a multi-stage sampling technique. Women were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire. In-depth and key informant interviews between women and stakeholders were done for the qualitative data collection. Results: Three-fourths (77.0%) of women preferred government tertiary healthcare facilities for obstetric care. Although 69.0% and 75.6% of the participants did not experience any verbal and physical abuse, respectively, the qualitative study results were quite the opposite. While 92.8% of the women complained that no birth companion was allowed during their delivery. Moreover, 79.9% of the women did not have the freedom to choose their comfortable birthing position. The levels of mistreatment in the rural areas were slightly higher than that of the urban areas. Conclusion: Quality care is a fundamental approach to maternity care. A fair bit of women experiences mistreatment during childbirth in healthcare setups. However, the chief concern here is the perception of such abuse by the mothers as normal due to their lack of knowledge regarding women's rights.