Male Involvement in Family Planning and Reproductive Health in Pakistan

Download or read book Male Involvement in Family Planning and Reproductive Health in Pakistan written by Megan Douthwaite and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A review of the literature from the past 10 years on men and reproductive health in Pakistan revealed only seven major studies. Overall, these studies indicate that Pakistani men are similar to women in terms of their fertility preferences, attitudes, and knowledge of family planning. Men are generally supportive of family planning and may even view specific methods more positively than women. Unclear, however, are the factors underlying large discrepancies between husbands' and wives' reports of family planning communication and decision making as well as contraceptive use. Reliance on withdrawal and condoms has increased in recent years to represent 50% of contraceptive usage, but vasectomy remains an underutilized option. The sources of men's family planning knowledge and supplies in Pakistan have not been investigated. Several studies have revealed very low awareness levels among men of both male and female reproductive health. Despite a demand for greater male involvement in family planning, programming in this area has been limited and awarded a low priority. Vasectomy remains the least publicized contraceptive option in Pakistan. Although more large-scale surveys on men and reproductive health would be useful, there is a particular need for anthropological studies capable of providing insight into complex issues such as how men and women negotiate contraceptive use, the reproductive health problems that concern Pakistani men, their preferred sources of family planning information, and ways in which men may be impeding fertility control efforts.