Javanese Women’s Perception of Husband’s Support in Women Reproductive Health

Abstract

The husband’s involvement in reproductive health is a complex process of social and behavioral change. The role of men in women’s health I Indonesia felt to be very low for various reasons that have taken root in Indonesian society which tends to be patriarchal, in Javanese particularly. This descriptive study aimed to describe the women’s perceptions towards husband’s support in making decisions related to women’s reproductive health in 105 childbearing married women aged 15-49, in Public Health Center 1, Bantul, Yogyakarta. Women's Perception of Males Involvement in Maternal Healthcare Questionnaire was modified and validated to collect the women perception based on health condition, health services, and financial status. Purposive sampling technique was used in this study. The result shows that majority of the women agree that decision making should be done by both husband and wife (99%). Most women (63.8%) believe that selection of health care facilities should be considered with the completeness of the medical services needed and the comfortable place (84.8%). The recommendation from this study is position equality and status between men and women in decision making. Therefore, women are encouraged to be more courageous in expressing their opinions as a form of their involvement in decision making of their health. Keywords— Women perception, husbands support,reproductive.