Afghanistan has made remarkable progress in reducing maternal mortality over the past few decades, and male participation in their pregnant partner’s reproductive health care is crucial for further improvement. This study aimed to examine whether male attendance at antenatal care (ANC) with their pregnant partners might be beneficially associated with the degree of utilization of reproductive health care by the pregnant partners. Data for 2660 couples (women aged 16–49 years) were taken from the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (AfDHS). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were employed to explore the association between male attendance at ANC with their pregnant partners and reproductive health care utilization outcomes, including adequate utilization (four or more visits) of ANC services, ANC visits during the first trimester (up to 12 weeks) of pregnancy, rate of blood and urine testing during pregnancy, rate of institutional delivery and utilization of postnatal check-up services. The results indicated that the rate of male attendance at ANC with their pregnant partners was 69.4%. After controlling for covariates, pregnant partners who were accompanied to ANC by their male partners were more likely to adequately utilize ANC services (AOR=1.42; 95% CI: 1.18–1.71), commence ANC visits even during the first trimester (AOR=1.21; 95% CI: 1.03–1.42), give birth at a health facility (AOR=1.23; 95% CI: 1.03–1.47) and present themselves for postnatal check-ups (AOR=1.24; 95% CI: 1.04–1.47) than those who were not accompanied by them. The study demonstrated that participation of male partners in ANC was positively associated with their pregnant partners’ utilization of reproductive health care services in Afghanistan. The findings suggest that, to improve maternal and child health outcomes in the country, it would be worthwhile implementing interventions to encourage male partners to become more engaged in the ANC of their pregnant partners.

中文翻译：

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男性参与产前保健及其对其怀孕伴侣生殖保健利用的影响：来自 2015 年阿富汗人口与健康调查的见解

过去几十年来，阿富汗在降低孕产妇死亡率方面取得了显着进展，男性参与其怀孕伴侣的生殖保健对于进一步改善至关重要。本研究旨在检查男性与怀孕伴侣一起参加产前保健 (ANC) 是否可能与怀孕伴侣对生殖保健的利用程度有益相关。2660 对夫妇（16-49 岁的女性）的数据来自 2015 年阿富汗人口与健康调查 (AfDHS)。采用双变量和多变量逻辑回归模型来探讨男性参加 ANC 与其怀孕的伴侣与生殖保健利用结果之间的关系，包括充分利用 ANC 服务（四次或更多次就诊），怀孕前三个月（最多 12 周）的 ANC 就诊、怀孕期间的血液和尿液检测率、机构分娩率和产后检查服务的利用率。结果表明，男性与怀孕伴侣一起参加 ANC 的率为 69.4%。在控制协变量后，由男性伴侣陪同 ANC 的怀孕伴侣更有可能充分利用 ANC 服务（AOR=1.42；95% CI：1.18-1.71），甚至在孕早期也开始 ANC 就诊（AOR=1.21 ; 95% CI: 1.03–1.42)，在医疗机构分娩 (AOR=1.23; 95% CI: 1.03–1.47) 并进行产后检查 (AOR=1.24; 95% CI: 1.04–1.47)比那些没有陪伴的人。该研究表明，男性伴侣参与 ANC 与其怀孕伴侣在阿富汗利用生殖保健服务呈正相关。研究结果表明，为了改善该国的孕产妇和儿童健康结果，实施干预措施以鼓励男性伴侣更多地参与其怀孕伴侣的 ANC 是值得的。