Nigerian Men and Modern Contraceptives: Who Are the Non-Users and What Are Their Perceptions about Family Planning?

Joshua O. Akinyemi, University of Ibadan
Olatunji Alabi, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi
Ayo Adebowale, University of Ibadan

Some previous studies in Nigeria have shown that certain belief among men is associated with poor contraceptive uptake. In this paper, we explored the regional patterns of a few of these perceptions and their predisposing characteristics. Using data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, we derived a variable for modern contraceptive use categorised as non-users (1) and users (0). Perception about contraception was captured using two statements: (1) “contraception is woman’s business and a man should not have to worry about it”; (2) “women who use contraception may become promiscuous”. Out of 12226 Nigerian men, 71.0% do not use any modern method of contraceptive; 19.9% believed that contraception is woman’s business while 38.1% believed that women who used contraceptive may become promiscuous. This varied across geo-political regions. Factors independently associated with non-use of contraceptive and perceptions about family planning were identified via multiple logit model.