Male involvement is a globally acknowledged strategy to improve maternal health. Studies in various setting have shown that it is associated with many positive maternal health impacts. Yet in practice, in many countries men are rarely involved.
Pauliina Aarnio is finishing a doctoral thesis investigating perceptions of men on their role and involvement in their daily live in communities, not in the more researched facility-level, in health issues during pregnancy and delivery. She has studied the topic in a low-income rural context with major challenges to improve maternal and newborn health.