Women on top: the relative influence of wives and husbands on contraceptive use in KwaZulu-Natal

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative influence of husband and wife on contraceptive practice. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adult men and women in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A matched file for 238 married or cohabiting couples was created. RESULTS: Knowledge of methods of contraception was virtually universal and attitudes to contraception were favorable both in men and women. A substantial proportion of men and women reported using a method of contraception. The wife's desire to stop childbearing was the most powerful predictor of contraceptive use among couples, after adjustment for possible confounders. The husband's approval (or not) of family planning and his preference for future childbearing were not significantly related to contraceptive use. CONCLUSION: Contraceptive use within marital and cohabiting unions is high and the wife's fertility preference was found to be a key determinant of use. This conclusion challenges conventional wisdom that men are the dominant decision-makers in fertility and family planning decisions.