Exploring Readiness for Birth Control in Improving Women Health Status: Factors Influencing the Adoption of Modern Contraceptives Methods for Family Planning Practices

Background: Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populated country, with a population of approximately 208 million people. Despite this, just 25% of legitimate couples say they have used modern contraceptive methods. A large body of literature has indicated that sexual satisfaction is a complex and multifaceted concept, since it involves physical and cultural components. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of influencing factors in terms of contraceptive self-efficacy (CSE), contraceptive knowledge, and spousal communication on the adoption of modern contraceptive methods for family planning (FP) under the moderating role of perceived barriers. Methods: Data were collected using an adopted questionnaire issued to married women of reproductive age belonging to the Rawalpindi and Neelum Valley regions in Pakistan. The sample consisted of 250 married women of reproductive age. SPSS was used to analyze the respondents’ feedback. Results: The findings draw public attention towards CSE, contraceptive knowledge, and spousal communication, because these factors can increase the usage of modern methods for FP among couples, leading to a reduction in unwanted pregnancies and associated risks. Regarding the significant moderation effect of perceived barriers, if individuals (women) are highly motivated (CSE) to overcome perceived barriers by convincing their husbands to use contraceptives, the probability to adopt modern contraceptive methods for FP practices is increased. Conclusions: Policymakers should formulate strategies for the involvement of males by designing male-oriented FP program interventions and incorporating male FP workers to reduce communication barriers between couples. Future research should address several other important variables, such as the desire for additional child, myths/misconceptions, fear of side effects, and partner/friend discouragement, which also affect the adoption of modern contraceptive methods for FP practices.

Mapping the Reproductive Health Communication Landscape: A State-of-the-art Review

Background: Reproductive health communication encompasses family planning, maternal, neonatal and child health, and sexual and reproductive health communications for adolescents and youth as fundamental elements for intervention. Objective: To summarize, examine, and identify gaps in the theoretical, methodological, empirical, and measurement literature on reproductive health communication as it relates to Ethiopia. Methods: A systematic search was conducted using electronic databases such as the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLINE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Psychological Information (PsychINFO), and Google Scholar to locate theoretic, psychometric, and empirical literature on reproductive health communication. Results: Local literature identified by the databases were mainly based on crosssectional designs, had small sample size and lacked essential psychometric protocols. Results showed that most studies replicatively focused on spousal communication centering reproductive choices and decisions. A common strategy was to use student populations as data sources limiting the generalizability of findings. Conclusion: The need for more diverse designs and areas of investigation using better instrumentation is indicated.

Family planning use among young mothers in the peri-urban area of Osun State, Nigeria: the influence of spousal communication and attitude

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the influence of spousal communication and attitude toward family planning (FP) use among young mothers in the peri-urban area of Osun State, Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe study was limited to a primary cross-sectional dataset collected among 420 young mothers between the ages of 15 and 30 years residing in the peri-urban area of Osun State, Nigeria. The distribution of the use of FP across the socio-demographic, spousal communication and attitude was described, and multivariate logistic regression was used to assess FP use likelihood. The results were presented as crude odds ratios (cOR) and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05.FindingsFP use were more likely to be higher among the respondents whose male spouses have good communication [cOR = 35.5; 95% (15.93–78.99)], good attitude [cOR = 8.6 95% (3.59–20.65)] and this persisted after adjusting for significant covariates [aOR = 80.7; 95% (19.80–328.84)] and [aOR = 5.4 95% (1.34–22.17)].Research limitations/implicationsThe study's strength is the ability to design questionnaires tailored toward the literature gap on nonuse of FP by young mothers. However, the study is without limitation because the focus was on young mothers alone why their spouses were not interviewed. Male spouse details were collected from the young mothers, and there may be inaccuracy in the reporting of male spouse socio-demographic characteristics used as a control variable in this study. Also, because this research was conducted among specific group, the results of the study cannot be used to generalize for other group.Practical implicationsFuture studies should consider both partners to harness the true picture of poor communication and attitude toward each other. The future study will also be more robust if it can consider a qualitative research design as this will help unveil more underlining factors influencing the nonuse of FP among young mothers.Originality/valueYoung mothers with good spousal communication and attitude were more likely to use FP. Deliberate interventions should include focus group discussion and community sensitization to encourage good communication and attitude of male spouse toward their partner in the peri-urban area of Osun State, Nigeria.

Impact of home visits to pregnant women and their spouses on gender norms and dynamics in Bauchi State, Nigeria: Narratives from visited men and women

Background: Maternal and newborn child health are priority concerns in Bauchi State, northern Nigeria. Increased male involvement in reproductive health is recommended by the World Health Organization. A trial of a program of universal home visits to pregnant women and their spouses, with an intention to increase male involvement in pregnancy and childbirth, showed improvements in actionable risk factors and in maternal morbidity. We used a narrative technique to explore experiences of the visits and their effect on gender roles and dynamics within the households. Methods: Trained fieldworkers collected narratives of change from 23 visited women and 21 visited men. After translation of the stories into English, we conducted an inductive thematic analysis to examine the impact of the visits on gender norms and dynamics. Results: The analysis indicated that the visits improved men’s support for antenatal care, immunization, and seeking help for danger signs, increased spousal communication, and led to changes in perceptions about gender violence and promoted non-violent gender relationships. However, although some stories described increased spousal communication, they did not mention that this translated into shared decision-making or increased autonomy for women. Many of the men’s stories described a continuing paternalistic, male-dominant position in decision-making. Conclusions: Few studies have examined the gender-transformative potential of interventions to promote male involvement in reproductive health; our analysis provides some initial insights into this.

Influence of Spousal Communication on Marital Conflict Resolution as Expressed by Married Adults in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State: Implications for Counselling Practice

This study investigated the influence of spousal communication on marital conflict resolution as expressed by married adults in the Ilorin metropolis. The research design adopted for the study was a descriptive design. A stratified sampling technique was employed to select 210 respondents. The main instrument used for the study was a researcher-designed questionnaire entitled “Influence of Spousal Communication on Marital Conflict Resolution Questionnaire (ISCMCRQ)”. The instrument was validated by experts in counseling and also yielded a reliability co-efficient of 0.88 after a test re-test reliability method. One research question was raised and three hypotheses were postulated and tested. An analysis of Variance and t-test were employed to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed that communication in marriage has a positive influence on marital conflict resolution. Findings also revealed that communication helps to resolve marital conflict if there is effective communication among couples and enhanced respect for each other. Ineffective communication between spouses leads to perceptive error. There were no significant differences in the influence of spousal communication style on marital conflict resolution as expressed by married adults in the Ilorin metropolis based on gender, age and educational qualification. It was therefore recommended that married adults should be encouraged to pay attention to the non-verbal communication aspects of their relationships.

Influence of Husband Consent to Family Planning and Spousal Communication on the Use of Family Planning among Young Mothers in Peri-Urban, Nigeria

Men are perceived as significant barriers to the uptake of contraception in some communities, and lack of spousal communication regarding contraception is evident in some studies conducted in South-West and Northern Nigeria. The objective is to identify and discuss how husband consent to family planning (FP) and spousal communication influence family planning use among peri-urban dwellers in Nigeria. The study was limited to the primary dataset collected among young mothers that resides in peri-urban between the age of 15-30 years in South West, Nigeria. The result showed that the use of family planning was high among the respondents whose husband give consent to the use of family planning, and respondents who had appropriate spousal communication. Similarly, respondents whose spouse asks questions or whose husband advises on communication are likely to use FP. On the other hand, respondents whose husband didn&rsquo;t give consent, respondents with inappropriate communication with the spouse, respondents whose spouses didn&rsquo;t give advice, and those whose spouses didn&rsquo;t ask questions are less likely to use FP.

Family Planning Communication between Wives and Husbands: Insights from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey

Frequent inter-spousal communication is regarded as an indicator of safe family planning practice. Nevertheless, communication about family planning within couples in Indonesia is still largely unexplored. This study assessed the levels of inter-spousal communication about family planning and its associated determinants, using cross-sectional and nationally representative data from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS), from a randomly selected cohort of 8,925 currently-married couples. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, inter-spousal communication behaviors, and attitudes regarding family planning were collected. The dependent variable in this study is how frequently couples discuss family planning, based on wives’ responses. The analyses were stratified based on the frequency of inter-spousal communication: never, once or twice, or more often. The results of the study were greater husband approval of family planning and communication with family planning field workers, and that those encouraged inter-spousal communication in Indonesia.

Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning Methods among Married Women of Reproductive Age of Chepang Community of Dhading District

Background: Knowledge of family planning plays a significant role in public health to control birth and maintain the health of women. The Chepang, a backward and deprived indigenous group of Nepal, heavily experiences teenage pregnancies, high fertility and high mortality of infants and mothers, which are largely due to lack of knowledge on family planning. So, the objective of this study was to find knowledge and practice regarding family planning among married women of reproductive age. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among married women of the Chepang community, Benighat, Dhadnig, Nepal from September 2016 to November 2016. A simple random probability sampling technique was used to collect 80 respondents. Results: The mean age of the respondents was (30.7 ± 7) years, ranging from 17 to 47, with majority being 25-29 years.. The average marital age, and average age at first pregnancy were (16.7 ± 2) years and (17.7 ± 2.33) years respectively. Ninety-two percent of the respondents were aware of family planning. The major sources of information were health workers (79.2%) and radio/television (57.1%). The most known methods of contraception were Depo- provera (87.3%) and pills (85.7%), whereas least known methods were copper T (31%) and Norplant (31%). The contraceptive prevalence was 49.9%, among which pills and Depo provera were used maximum by the respondents (41.1%). One third (33.8%) of the respondents had the adequate knowledge. Education, spousal communication, current contraceptive users, married age, number of children, and age at first pregnancy were the significant factors affecting the knowledge and practice of family planning (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Literacy status, spousal communication, marital age, size of children, and age at first pregnancy are the associated factors of knowledge. Whereas, practicing of family planning was associated to cultural taboos, self-decision, literacy status, and spousal communication.