Male Involvement in Reproductive Health Decisions and Skilled Delivery Care in Osun State

Maternal health outcomes remain deplorable in Nigeria, with lack of men’s involvement in reproductive health decisions of their spouses during pregnancy, delivery and post-partum periods, contributing to adverse health outcomes. There is limited information on the relationship between male involvement in skilled delivery care in Ile-Ife, Osun State. Hence, this study examined relationship between male involvement in reproductive health decisions and skilled delivery care in Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria. A community-based cross-sectional study which involved a quantitative data was employed. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select the respondents of the study. The study involved 397 married men aged 15-59 years. These respondents were interviewed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics, including frequency distribution, Chi-square test and binary logistic regression. The results showed 55% had a moderate level of involvement in reproductive health decisions and 77.3% of their wives had skilled delivery care. The adjusted model revealed that wives of the respondents with low involvement in reproductive decisions were less likely to use health facility for delivery (OR = 0.03; CI = 0.01 – 0.21). The results showed that wives of older men had higher odds of skilled delivery care (OR = 3.59; CI = 1.02 – 12.05). Wives of never married men were less likely to use health facility (OR = 0.19; CI = 0.06 – 0.60). The results showed that wives of men with tertiary education were more likely to use skilled delivery care (OR = 5.41; CI = 1.53 – 19.64). Wives of men who reside in urban areas were less likely to use health facility for delivery (OR = 0.33; CI = 0.15 – 0.71).  The study concluded that male involvement in reproductive health decisions was moderate and skilled delivery care was higher among women whose husbands were involved in reproductive health decisions. Poor socio-economic and demographic characteristics of men were associated with non-health facility delivery of their wives. Policies should focus on involving men in reproductive health decisions and improving household socio-economic and demographic status.