Women on Top: the Relative Influence of Wives and Husbands on Contraceptive Use in KwaZulu-Natal

Overview

Journal Women Health

Publisher Routledge

Specialties Gynecology & Obstetrics
Public Health

Date 2005 Oct 13

PMID 16219586

Citations 16

Authors

Pranitha Maharaj

John Cleland

Affiliations

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Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative influence of husband and wife on contraceptive practice.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adult men and women in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A matched file for 238 married or cohabiting couples was created.

Results: Knowledge of methods of contraception was virtually universal and attitudes to contraception were favorable both in men and women. A substantial proportion of men and women reported using a method of contraception. The wife's desire to stop childbearing was the most powerful predictor of contraceptive use among couples, after adjustment for possible confounders. The husband's approval (or not) of family planning and his preference for future childbearing were not significantly related to contraceptive use.

Conclusion: Contraceptive use within marital and cohabiting unions is high and the wife's fertility preference was found to be a key determinant of use. This conclusion challenges conventional wisdom that men are the dominant decision-makers in fertility and family planning decisions.

Citing Articles

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Hernandez J, Babazadeh S, Anglewicz P, Akilimali P Reprod Health. 2022; 19(1):6.

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Multilevel analysis of the role of women's empowerment on use of contraceptive methods among married Cambodian women: evidence from demographic health surveys between 2005 and 2014.

Nkoka O, Lee D, Chuang K, Chuang Y BMC Womens Health. 2021; 21(1):9.

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Gender Differences in Perceived Benefits of and Barriers to Use of Modern Contraceptive Methods in Rural Malawi.

Huber-Krum S, Norris A Int Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2020; 46:135-146.

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'I am the master key that opens and locks': Presentation and application of a conceptual framework for women's and girls' empowerment in reproductive health.

Karp C, Wood S, Galadanci H, Kibira S, Makumbi F, Omoluabi E Soc Sci Med. 2020; 258:113086.

PMID: 32521413 PMC: 7369639. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113086.

Male partner influence on family planning and contraceptive use: perspectives from community members and healthcare providers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Kriel Y, Milford C, Cordero J, Suleman F, Beksinska M, Steyn P Reprod Health. 2019; 16(1):89.

PMID: 31238960 PMC: 6593556. DOI: 10.1186/s12978-019-0749-y.