Attitude of Nigerian women to contraceptive use by men

J Obstet Gynaecol. 2008 Aug;28(6):621-5. doi: 10.1080/01443610802283530.

Abstract

This study was aimed at finding the attitude of Nigerian women to contraceptive use by their male partners. A total of 417 women received the questionnaire; 71% of these were sexually active and 34.8% were not aware of any male contraceptive method. Only 1.7% reported regular use of condoms by their spouses, however this was significantly higher if the women were better educated. Most of the women had a positive attitude to contraceptive use by their spouses, as 54% (225/417) of them showed preference to male dependant contraceptives in their relationship. However, only 32.3% (135/417) of the women had ever-requested their spouse to use a condom and in just 18.5% (25/135) was such a request regularly complied with. Significantly more Muslim women prefer their partners to use a contraceptive rather than themselves (p = 0.001), but the condom usage by their spouses is significantly lower than their Christian counterparts (p = 0.000). There is a need to offer counselling on male contraceptives to both genders so that they can make an informed choice, especially with the dual protection offered by the use of condoms.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attitude*
  • Condoms / statistics & numerical data*
  • Contraception Behavior / psychology*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Islam
  • Male
  • Nigeria