Abstract
This study was designed to investigate the
extent and socio-demographic determinants of males’ involvement in family
planning practices in Ohafia Local Government Area, Abia State.
Seven research questions and five null hypotheses were formulated to guide the
study. The design of the study was descriptive survey. The sample consisted of
864 currently married males from four wards in Ohafia Local Government Area.
The instruments used for the study were Questionnaire on Extent and
Socio-demographic Determinants of Males’ Involvement in FPPs and Focus Group
Discussion (FGD) Guide which were validated by experts and used for data
collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, Pearson
product moment correlation co-efficient, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and
t-test statistic. Content analysis was employed to analyse the focus group
discussions (FGDs). The major findings of the study were: males’ involvement in
the use of abstinence and withdrawal was to a small extent (1.61 & 1.53) while
their use of condom and vasectomy was to no extent (1.07 & 1.46); males
were involved in supporting their wife’s use of natural planning method to a
small extent (1.78) while their support for wife’s use of artificial family
planning methods was to no extent (1.14, 1.07, 1.25, 1.26 & 1.24); level of
education was a determinant of the extent of males’ involvement in family
planning practices; occupation was a determinant of extent of male’s involvement
in family planning practices; religious affiliation was not a determinant of
the extent of males’ involvement in family planning practices; age was not a
determinant of the extent of males’ involvement in family planning practices;
geographical location was a determinant of the extent of male’s involvement in
family planning practices. Based on the findings of the study the following
recommendations were made: sensitization campaigns should be conducted by
health agencies on the importance of males’ involvement in family planning
practices; policy makers should formulate policies that will subsidize the cost
of family planning services and ensure its availability to men in low-income
occupations.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Background to the Study
Recognition is growing on a global scale that the involvement of men in family planning practices (FPPs) offers both men and women important benefits. Such benefits include a decreased maternal mortality rate and an increased contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR). According to Cleland, Bernstein, Ezeh, Faundes, Glasier and Innis (2006), an estimated ninety per cent (90%) of abortion-related and twenty per cent (20%) of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality, along with thirty-two (32%) per cent of maternal deaths could be prevented by use of effective contraception. Hubacher, Mavranezouli and McGinn (2008) also noted that in Sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated fourteen million unintended pregnancies occur every year. These unintended pregnancies and subsequent abortions could have been avoided if the male partners had applied family planning (FP) methods.
In the past, men were considered to be beyond the scope of FP programmes; the reasons, according to Dahal, Padmadas and Hinde (2008), included the notions that reproduction was primarily a woman’s issue and that men usually did not take responsibility for reproductive health and FP. However, it has been widely acknowledged that men in developing countries, such as Nigeria, make most of the decisions regarding family formation (Bankole & Singh, 1998); and according to Morgan and Niraula (1995), despite women’s increasing influence on household decision making, their preferences regarding contraceptive choices and family size may not translate into practice unless they conform to their husbands’ wishes. Thus, without the husband’s approval and support, the wife may not be able to practise FP.
Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, revealed a high level of knowledge of FP methods and a strong positive attitude towards FP by men but the actual use of these FP methods remains uncommon (Mustapha & Mumford, 1984; Gallen & Kak, 1986; Obionu, 1998). This apparent refusal or reluctance by men to use male FP methods presents a source of concern, especially regarding the need for couples to share the responsibilities of reproduction. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute- AGI (2003), studies conducted in Africa and Latin America had revealed that more than a quarter of men who wanted to limit or postpone their wives’ childbearing did not use any method to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Hence, the burden of contraception was borne by the women only. This confirmed the assertion by Lasee and Becker (1997) that in most developing countries, like Nigeria, women carry the burden of responsibility for contraceptive use often with little or no support and sometimes, with great resistance from their male partners. This may be the reason why in spite of an increased emphasis on FP programmes in Nigeria, the impact on fertility is still very low with a population growth rate of two point nine per cent per annum (Uzuegbunam, 2005). In line with this, Duze and Mohammed (2006) opined that one factor that might have contributed to the lack of success of the population control programmes may be that they tend to be directed toward women only, ignoring the role of men in FP decisions.
FP, according to Arkutu (1995), refers to the actions couples take to have the desired number of children, when they are wanted. He added that using a method of FP meant allowing choice, not chance to determine the number and spacing of children. This implied that people, especially couples, had a responsibility of deciding the number of children they wanted and the timing of their births, hence the birth of children need not be by accident. Similarly, FP was defined by Planned Parenthood Federation-PPF (2002) as the kind of services which help people to plan their families in such a way that they can have children when they want and help individuals to enjoy normal sexual relations without fear of unwanted pregnancy. This definition views FP as a range of services which enabled people to plan their families and avoid unnecessary anxiety brought about by fear of unwanted pregnancies. Similarly, FP was defined as the planning of when to have children and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans (Family Health International – FHI, 2009). This highlights the importance of employing birth control techniques or FP methods to determine when or not to have children. These different FP methods or techniques are classified into natural and artificial; temporary and permanent; and male and female (Jones, 1982).
Natural FP methods, according to Kippley and Kippley (1996), refer to any use of fertility awareness methods which involve a woman’s observation and charting of her body’s fertility signs to determine the fertile and infertile phases of her cycle. Artificial FP methods, according to PPF (2002), refer to those methods that work in various ways to: physically prevent sperm from entering the female reproductive tract (for example, male condom and female condom); hormonally prevent ovulation from occurring (for example, oral contraceptives, injectables, implants and Intra Uterine Devices-IUCDs); or surgically altering the female or male reproductive tract to induce sterility (for example, tubal ligation and vasectomy).
