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.