The effect of husbands\u27 fertility preferences on couples\u27 reproductive behaviour in rural Bangladesh

Bangladesh society is profoundly gender stratified, and yet male roles in reproductive health processes have not been rigorously investigated. This study examines the association between men\u27s reproductive health knowledge, attitude and behaviour and their wives\u27 subsequent reproductive behaviour using longitudinal data from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). A total of 4969 matched husband-and-wife data from a 1998 survey and women\u27s contraceptive use history data following this survey are used. Results show a significant association between husbands\u27 fertility preferences and current use of any family planning method. When wives\u27 background characteristics, and husbands\u27 background and socioeconomic characteristics are controlled for, the predicted probability of using a method of contraception among non-educated wives whose husbands want more children is 0.49 compared with 0.64 for those whose husbands do not want more children. However, the net effect of husbands\u27 preference for additional children diminishes as wives\u27 level of education increases. Among wives who had completed high school, the predicted probability of using a method of contraception is 0.70 for those whose husbands want more children compared with 0.69 for those whose husbands do not want more children