Will Contraceptive Use Go up If Pakistani Couples Keep Talking?

Syeda Saman Naz, Population Council

Pakistan’s CPR is stagnant at 30%. All major reproductive health surveys show an increasing proportion of women reporting ‘husband disapproval’ as the primary reason for not using any contraception. This paper uses data from 17,124 married women of reproductive age. Using multiple logistic and Cox proportional hazard regression models, it analyzes the influence of inter-spousal communication on the uptake of contraception and the persistent use. Results show that after the woman’s desire to limit childbearing (OR=5.98) wife’s perception of husband’s fertility is the strongest predictor of contraceptive use (OR=4.57). Results also show that odds of contraceptive discontinuation are significantly higher among the couples who never discussed FP compared to those who repeatedly discussed FP (HR=1.27 at 99% CI).