Awareness of Signs of Obstetric Complications amongst Married Couples: Implications for Decision-Making towards Care-Seeking. A Qualitative Study of Selected Districts in Ghana

Bougangue Bassoumah; Mpawenimana Abdallah Saidi

Authors

Bougangue Bassoumah
Mpawenimana Abdallah Saidi

Keywords:

awareness, maternity, signs, intra-household, decision-making, clinic attendance, needs assessment

Abstract

This paper examined how couples' awareness of signs of obstetric complications inform intrahousehold decision-making towards care-seeking. The data were generated from twelve focus groups and twenty-four individual interviews involving women who were receiving maternity care and their husbands in the Yendi Municipality, Awutu-Senya West and Chereponi Districts in Ghana. Quota sampling and snowballing were used to reach the participants. The study classified couples as knowledgeable or less knowledgeable based on their level of awareness of key signs of obstetric complications. Most knowledgeable couples took joint decisions devoid of cultural and gender influences. Their decisions were reached based on their knowledge about signs/symptoms of obstetric complications and their implications for maternal and neonatal health. There were some level of gender equality and female autonomy amongst the knowledgeable in decision-making. However, decisions made by less knowledgeable couples were male-dominated, culture-and gender-driven embedded in health beliefs and traditional gender norms.

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Awareness of Signs of Obstetric Complications amongst Married Couples: Implications for Decision-Making towards Care-Seeking. A Qualitative Study of Selected Districts in Ghana. (2017). Global Journal of Medical Research, 17(E2), 15-25. https://medicalresearchjournal.org/index.php/GJMR/article/view/1376

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