‘If I go with him, I can't talk with other women’: Understanding women's resistance to, and acceptance of, men's involvement in maternal and child healthcare in northern Ghana

Men's involvement in maternal and child healthcare especially in patriarchal societies such as Ghana is increasingly being advocated. While a number of studies have been conducted to explore men's views on their involvement, few studies have examined the perspectives of childbearing women. Based on qualitative focus group discussions that were conducted between January and August 2014 with a total of 125 adult women in seven communities in the Upper West Region of Ghana, this paper examines women's perspectives on men's involvement in maternal and child healthcare. Findings suggest that although many women recognised the benefits of men's involvement, few actually supported greater male involvement. The majority of women expressed negative attitudes and opinions on the involvement of men. These negative attitudes and opinions were framed by three broad factors: perceptions that pregnancy and child care should be a female role while men should be bread winners; women's desire to avoid negative stereotyping; and fears that men's involvement may turn hitherto secure social spaces for women into insecure ones. These narrative accounts largely challenge current programmatic efforts that seek to promote men's involvement in maternal and child healthcare, and suggest that such male involvement programmes are less likely to succeed if the views and concerns of childbearing women are not taken into account.