Fertility Intention and Contraceptive Use among Males in Nigeria

Temitope O. Adeyoju, University of the Witwatersrand
Latifat D. G. Ibisomi, University of the Witwatersrand

Despite numerous reproductive health programmes on contraceptive use, many African countries still record low contraceptive prevalence and high levels of fertility. Studies have shown mismatch in fertility intention and subsequent reproductive behaviour of women. A possible explanation is the great influence that male partners exert on contraceptive use and fertility outcomes. Could the fertility intention of males therefore predict contraceptive use and eventual fertility outcome? Using the 2008 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey data of men, this study investigates if and the extent to which fertility intention of males in Nigeria influences their contraceptive use. Results show that only 13.5% of men in the analysis sample are using modern contraceptive methods while 15.9% wants to limit and 34.7% wants to space births. Fertility intention was found to be significantly associated with use of modern methods at both bivariate and multivariate levels. The implications of the findings are discussed.