Indicator of male involvement | Rationale for inclusion | Limitations | Binary variable | Score in index |
---|---|---|---|---|
Accompanying female partner to ANC at least once during the most recent pregnancy | Most common definition of involvement used in the literature | Anecdotally, husband would rarely join wife in the consultation in Myanmar; instead may wait in the waiting room or outside* | 1: Participant sometimes, mostly or always accompanied their wife to ANC | 1 |
Broad meaning of ‘accompany’; non-specific measure of involvement | 0: Never accompanied | |||
Father’s presence at the most recent childbirth | Common indicator in the literature | Broad meaning of ‘presence’; non-specific measure of involvement | 1: Present | 1 |
0: Not present | ||||
Presence in the room during labour is culturally inappropriate in Myanmar,* but presence nearby allows husband to support his wife and newborn in other ways | ||||
Discussion of partner’s most recent pregnancy and birth with a health care provider | May indicate a greater depth of involvement and a greater readiness to assist | May indicate a male-dominant approach to pregnancy care | 1: Discussion between participant and provider | 1 |
Not seen elsewhere in the literature | 0: No discussion (or participant doesn’t recall, n = 1) | |||
Shared decision-making regarding antenatal and delivery care provider with their partner during the last pregnancy | Reflective of inter-spousal communication, which is an important component of involvement and impacts on MNH outcomes | Subject to recall and social desirability biases | 1: Both participant and wife made the decision | 1 |
Doesn’t describe the extent or depth of communication within couples | 0: Participant, wife, older family members or others made the decision | |||
Shared contraceptive decision-making with partner | Inter-spousal communication in the context of contraceptive use is well examined in the literature and associated with positive family planning outcomes | 1 |