Table A2.

Categories and subcategories referring to practices and perceptions of male partners in the postpartum period.

S/N	Categories	Subcategories
1.	Men as providers and, occasionally, care takers	Men provide care during postpartum Men participate in income-generating activities Postpartum care support as women’s work
2.	Men as decision makers	Men decide when to seek care Elderly women provide information to the male partner concerning a mother’s sickness Men as head of the household
3	Diverse perceptions of sexual abstinence	Men sleeping in another room within the household Extramarital relations as coping strategy during postpartum period Couples have sexual abstinence for three or four months depending on child’s gender
4.	Barriers for men in using/accompanying partners to use reproductive and child healthcare services	Society believes that women are controlling husband if he goes to healthcare services Lack of advocacy on male involvement from the healthcare system Female health workers giving reproductive health education make men feel shy Postpartum care services perceived to be of use for the baby and if complications to mothers arise