ArticleMaternal & child nutrition2021
Father involvement, maternal depression and child nutritional outcomes in Soweto, South Africa.
Article in Maternal & child nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perinatal mental health impacts of intimate partner violence in the African region: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Screening tools for maternal mental health in Africa: a systematic review.Frontiers in global women's health · 2026Pooled it
- Breastfeeding interventions for preventing postpartum depression.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The role of paternal support in breastfeeding outcomes: a meta-analytic review.International breastfeeding journal · 2024Pooled it
- Navigating relationship dynamics, pregnancy and fatherhood in the Bukhali trial: a qualitative study with men in Soweto, South Africa.BMC public health · 2023Trial
- "Him Leaving Me - That is My Fear Now": A Mixed Methods Analysis of Relationship Dissolution Between Ugandan Pregnant and Postpartum Women Living with HIV and Their Male Partners.AIDS and behavior · 2023Trial
- Associations Between Male Partner Participation, Women's Autonomy, and Postpartum Care Seeking Among First Time Mothers, 15-24 Years, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Couple Relationships and Interaction During Pregnancy: A Comprehensive Review of Key Relational Dynamics.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Review
- "When a man is stressed, it replicates in the house": Kenyan women's perspectives on the influence of male partners on perinatal mental health among women affected by HIV.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Clinical and maternal factors related to father's involvement in pregnancy: a cross-sectional study.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2026Article
- 'She mustn't be the mother alone': motivators, barriers, and recommendations for men's engagement with reproductive research in South Africa.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- Longitudinally investigating patterns of maternal psychological distress in a South African birth cohort.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Men matter: a cross-sectional exploration of the forgotten fathers of children born to adolescent mothers in South Africa.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Maternal Mental Health and Child Dietary Diversity in Rural Kenya: Findings From a Pooled Analysis of 2 Baseline Studies.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Exploring Factors Associated with Limited Male Partner Involvement in Maternal Health: A Sesotho Socio-Cultural Perspective from the Free State, South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Father involvement is a protective factor for maternal mental health in Western Kenya.SSM. Mental health · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Neurodevelopment of children who are HIV-exposed and uninfected in Kenya.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Father involvement in South Africa is low, despite evidence that it can improve maternal and child health and wellbeing. Within a larger randomised controlled trial, we assessed whether father involvement during and after pregnancy increased birth weight and exclusive breastfeeding through improved maternal mental health. At 6-week postnatal, mothers completed questionnaires on birth, feeding practices, social support, father involvement and postnatal depression. Father involvement during pregnancy was measured by their attendance at antenatal care and the study intervention, whereas postnatal involvement was measured by attendance at antenatal care and type of paternal support provided. Structural equation modelling was used to identify associations between father involvement, maternal depression, low birth weight and exclusive breastfeeding. Among the 212 mother-baby pairs, father involvement was very low with only 43%, 33% and 1% of partners attending early ultrasound, antenatal care and the birth of the child, respectively. Twenty-nine percent of the mothers showed signs of depression during pregnancy, compared with 7% after birth. Eighteen percent of the infants were born low birth weight, and 57% of mothers reported exclusively breastfeeding at 6 weeks. Father involvement was directly associated with postnatal depression, but it did not directly or indirectly impact exclusive breastfeeding or low birth weight. We conclude that postnatal father involvement can improve postnatal maternal depression and that men would benefit from specific guidance on how they can support mothers during and after pregnancy.
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Registered trials
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