Peer-reviewed article
Perceived changes in mothers’ outcomes following a pilot parenting program for couples with young children in Mwanza, Tanzania: A longitudinal qualitative study
Valencia J. Lambert, Alina Bhojani, Gabriel Sangarara, Julieth Joseph, Nathan T. Yang et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looked at how mothers experienced Familia Bora, a pilot parenting program for couples with young children in six communities in Mwanza, Tanzania, between July and November 2024. Mothers were interviewed at the start, middle and end of the program, and 22 mothers took part in the endline interviews. Mothers said they saw improvements in parenting, gender roles, the couple's relationship, their own mental health and child feeding. They also reported more father involvement in childcare, which they felt lightened their load. The authors suggest that programs that include fathers may support mothers, children and families.
Key points
- 22 mothers took part in endline interviews, and 15 of them (68%) were re-interviewed from the baseline sample.
- Mothers reported more responsive caregiving and more early learning activities.
- Mothers reported less harsh discipline.
- Mothers reported better nutrition knowledge and child feeding practices.
- Mothers described greater father involvement in childcare and more supportive couple relationships, which they saw as reducing their caregiving burden and supporting their mental health.
Limitations
The findings are mothers' own perceptions from a small pilot in one region, with no comparison group and no measured outcomes. They cannot show that the program caused the changes, and fathers' views are not reported in this abstract.
Abstract
There is growing interest in engaging not only mothers but also fathers in parenting programs to improve nurturing care, psychosocial support, and early childhood development. However, few studies have explored how mothers perceive and benefit from participating in parenting interventions alongside their partners. This study explored mothers’ experiences during the pilot implementation of Familia Bora , a couples-based parenting program delivered in six communities in Mwanza, Tanzania (July-November 2024). In-depth interviews were conducted with mothers at baseline, midline, and endline using both random and purposive sampling. A total of 22 mothers participated in endline interviews, of whom 15 (68%) were purposively re-interviewed from the baseline sample to enable longitudinal qualitative analysis of perceived changes over time. Interviews explored mothers’ perceptions of changes in parenting practices, gender roles and attitudes, couples’ relationships, maternal mental health, and complementary feeding practices. Mothers commonly reported improvements across all domains. They described increased use of responsive caregiving and early learning activities, reduced harsh discipline, and improved nutrition knowledge and child feeding practices. Mothers also highlighted greater father involvement in childcare and more supportive couples’ relationship dynamics, which they perceived as reducing their caregiving burden and supporting their mental health. Overall, engaging fathers through couples-based parenting interventions may catalyze shifts within households that benefit mothers through improved caregiving practices, stronger partner relationships, and more nurturing family environments. These findings highlight the potential of father-inclusive parenting programs to support maternal, child, and family well-being.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Familia Bora, a couples-based parenting program for mothers and fathers delivered in six communities (July-November 2024)
- Population
- Mothers of young children taking part with their partners in six communities in Mwanza, Tanzania; 22 mothers in endline interviews, 15 of them also interviewed at baseline
Key finding
Mothers reported improvements in all domains explored: parenting practices, gender roles and attitudes, couples' relationships, maternal mental health and complementary feeding.
Lambert et al. · OpenAlex - Early Childhood · 6 Oct 2026