Involvement of Husband During Antenatal Care Follow up of Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background Involving husbands in pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care improves the outcomes for mothers and babies. In most developing countries involvement of husbands towards antenatal care follow up is influenced by different socio-cultural and traditional factors. In Ethiopia, the degree of husband involvement as indicated by several research varied greatly. Objective The aim of this study is to measure the overall prevalence of husband involvement during antenatal care follow up of pregnant women in Ethiopia. Methods Five databases including PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, SAGE and Google Scholar were reviewed for relevant articles retrieved from 2011 to 2023. Literature search used keywords, including “male partner involvement,” “husband involvement,” “spouse involvement” “antenatal care,” and “perinatal care” and “Ethiopia”. The Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines were used for appraisal review of journals. Thirteen articles were included in the final systematic review and meta-analysis and random effect model was used to analyze. The presence of statistical heterogeneity was tested using I 2 , and publication bias was examined by various factors. Result Thirteen studies were finally identified and included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled estimated proportion of husband involvement during antenatal care follow up in Ethiopia was found to be 39.3[95%-CI (38.2, 40.4)]. Cochran Q test indicates that there is heterogeneity since I 2 is 98.6%. Egger's and Begg's tests were conducted to check possible publication bias and p-value = 0.679 and 0.807 respectively, which indicates that there is no possible publication bias. Conclusion It was discovered that the total pooled proportion of Ethiopian husbands’ involvement towards antenatal care follow up was low. This demands that the nation take action to evaluate the health care policy in order to encourage husbands to participate in antenatal care and yield positive outcomes for the health of mothers and children.