Table 3.

Coding framework and steps of analysis

Main code	Description (step 3)	Gender analysis (step 4)	Actor analysis (step 5)
1. Formulation of by-laws	Identifiable rules - official, legal or widely known or reported (written and unwritten) regarding expected and sanctioned behaviour.	Rules about gender within the by-laws (how are the responsibilities of women and men formulated; what are the defined sanctions for women and men?).	Who participates, who develops the content of the by-laws, who enforces?
2. Interpretation of by-laws	Perceptions about the objectives and appropriateness of the by-laws.	Perceptions about gender roles and responsibilities in maternal health care; perceptions about the by-laws as a tool to correct behaviour in maternal health care.	Who confirms, accepts, questions the rules; how are actors positioned in the gender hierarchy? The interaction in FGDs was analysed separately (what topics produced consensus or conflict; whose interests were being represented; was a particular member silenced?).
3. Implementation and effect of by-laws	Evidence of implementation (issuance of sanctions) and its effects on the actors involved.	The gendered implementation and effects of the by-laws.	Analysing specific accounts: to whom and under which circumstances is the by-law applied; what were decisions involved and who made the decisions; who is affected by the application of the by-law and how?