Male partners' knowledge and practices of antenatal care in district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

Background & aim: Active participation of men in antenatal care and their considerable knowledge about this issue is resulted in favorable pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practices of male partners regarding antenatal care (ANC) and their associated factors in district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan (KPK). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 married men residing in district Swat KPK, Pakistan in 2015 who were selected by convenience sampling. The data were collected by valid and reliable self-structured questionnaire and were completed by participants. The data were analyzed with STATA (version 11) using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The findings of the study revealed that almost half of the participants (52%) demonstrated a good knowledge of ANC. Moreover, factors as the socio-demographic variables, men’s level of education (P < 0.01), occupation (P < 0.01), number of family members (P < 0.01), and history of wife's premature delivery (P< 0.01) were found to be significantly associated with men’s knowledge of ANC. With regard to practices of ANC, majority (84%) had good practices in terms of male involvement in ANC. Also 95/5% men allowed their wives to refer to ANC facilities and 85/5% accompanied them. Conclusion: The present study concluded that men demonstrated a reasonable practice of ANC, as compared to their knowledge. This study paved the way for further research on men’s involvement in ANC in Pakistan.