A very interesting study conducted in Bangladesh which shows that husbands play an important role in the care that mothers receive in pregnancy and birth.

The findings presented in this paper suggest that the level of social support provided by the husband to his wife and the husband’s perception of social norms related medical intervention during childbirth are both associated with the type of provider utilized during childbirth. The husband’s perception of social norms related to professional care is important to the type of advice and support he will give his wife during pregnancy and childbirth, which has important implications for the development of future maternal health interventions.

Areas of fruitful future research include the further elucidation of the types of social support provided by the husband and the critical social norms related to childbirth in Bangladesh. This and future research could be used to create valid and reliable measures to assess the quantitative impact of social support and social norms on the utilization of professional maternal health services using a more representative sample. These findings may also be useful to program planners, who should pursue culturally sensitive ways to involve the husband in maternal health interventions and assess the effectiveness of education strategies targeted at husbands.