Involvement of Spouse in Postnatal Care among Mothers in Maternal and Child Health Clinic of a Referral Hospital of Nepal

Abstract

Introduction: The postnatal period, lasting from childbirth to six weeks, is a critical time for the mother as well as newborn. Spouse involvement in postnatal care is a crucial factor that supports maternal and newborn wellbeing. Increased husband participation improves maternal recovery, newborn care practices, and utilization of health services. This study is intended to assess spouse involvement in postnatal care among mothers in maternal and child health (MCH) clinics in a referral hospital.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 95 mothers of under one-year children at the MCH clinic of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu Nepal. Data was collected by using nonprobability, purposive sampling techniques through face-to-face interviews with semi-structured 5-point Likert. Data was analyzed in SPSS version 20, applying descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: this study showed that 54.7% mothers were aged between 25–30 years. Almost all (98.9%) spouses had high involvement and only 1.1% had low involvement. Mean involvement score was 112 ± 13.62. High involvement was observed in nutritional support (67.4%), reminding them to take iron & calcium supplementation (66.3%), assisting with newborn night care (71.6%), and breastfeeding support (66.3%). However, involvement was comparatively lower in hygiene-related activities: reminding pad change (36.8%) and genital hygiene (31.6%).

Conclusion: Almost all spouses of mothers of the under one-year children were highly involved in postnatal care, especially more support found in maternal nutrition, rest, newborn care, and emotional support. Statistically significant association was found between level of spouse involvement in postnatal care and mode of delivery.