Knowledge, Use, and Attitude of Husbands Towards Contraceptives Use by Couples in South-West Nigeria

Abstract

Authors: Saanu Oluseun, Adeyanju A.S, Olayemi O

Contraception is the deliberate prevention of pregnancy despite unprotected sexual intercourse through the use of various devices, sexual practices, chemicals, drugs, or surgical procedures. As important and useful as contraceptives are, there is still an unmet need for contraception globally. The gender-based barrier to contraceptive use could be from the female or the male, but the woman being the bearer of the burden of pregnancy and childbirth with the associated risk is less likely to be resistant to contraceptive use than the male counterpart. Therefore, this study aims to assess the knowledge of husbands on available contraceptive options, determine the proportion of husbands that have used contraceptives, and determine factors affecting the attitude of husbands towards contraceptive use by the couple.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Ibadan North local government area of Oyo State. Information was obtained from the respondent using a structured pre-tested questionnaire.

The mean age of the respondents was 41.68 ± 11.01 Years. About four-fifths (84.64%) of the men were aware of male and female contraception. Male condoms (82.30%) followed by withdrawal methods (82.30%) were the male methods mostly known to the men. though about a quarter (25.70%) knew of male sterilization. Oral pills (64.76%) and injectables (53.50%) were the female methods most known to the respondents. About 65.68% of the men have used contraception before though about 83% knew that contraception could prevent unwanted pregnancy and help in child spacing

The main limitations to contraception used were the age of the man, cultural barriers, family size, and the educational status of both husband and wife. However, the regression model showed that only tribe has a significant effect on the use of contraception by the interviewed men.

KEY WORDS: Contraception, husband, attitude, knowledge and Ibadan