Pre-and-post-operative aversion among men whose partners had caesarean delivery in a patriarchal setting

OBJECTIVES: The study evaluated pre and post-operative perception and aversion to caesarean delivery (CD) among men whose partners underwent the procedure. DESIGN: A multicentre cross-sectional study. SETTING: Two tertiary and two secondary health facilities. PARTICIPANTS: Men whose partners underwent CD at the study sites. METHODS: Participants were recruited by purposive sampling, data collection was through interaction via an interviewer-administered questionnaire first immediately the decision for CD was made and thereafter on the third postoperative day. Men whose partners had vaginal delivery were excluded from the study and data management was with SPSS version 21.0 while p<0.05 was significant. RESULTS: Awareness about CD was 84.0% mainly through the healthcare workers (42.1%) and the female partner (34.1%); 88.0% of participants recommended CD for medically-indicated reasons. The greatest influence on consent was the male partner (48.8%). The major pre-operative concerns were limitation of family size (34.7%) and fear of repeat CD (34.0%). Pre-operative perceptions of CD included being expensive (60.7%), fear of the procedure (48.0%), fear of complications (45.3%) and longer hospital stay (44.0%). Aversion to CD was 30.0% pre and 5.3% post-operation; predictors of aversion were history of previous surgery among male or female partner and awareness about CD. However, there were reductions in negative perception and aversion post-operation. CONCLUSION: The high negative perception and aversion to CD among male partners were reduced post-operation. Healthcare workers should address the concerns and negative perceptions about CD and prioritize patient-friendly experiences during surgical operations. FUNDING: Funding was by the researchers; no grant or external support was received for the study.