Fertility Limiting Intention and Contraceptive Use among Currently Married Men in Nepal: Evidence from Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016

INTRODUCTION: Less is known about fertility intention of men and family planning (FP) use pattern among men or their spouses who do not want to have more children in Nepal. The objective of the current research was to assess whether number and sex composition of living children determine contraceptive use and method mix among Nepalese men who expressed not wanting to have more children. METHODS: We used couple dataset from NDHS 2016 for the analysis. The sample consisted of 1551 (weighted) men aged 20 or older who had at least one living child and said they wanted no more children. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify determinants of sterilization, traditional, temporary contraceptive use. Analysis was conducted considering clustering and stratification in NDHS 2016 survey. RESULTS: Of the total respondents, more than 80% mentioned they do not want to have any more children. However, only one-third of the men or their spouses who expressed desire not to have children were using sterilization methods at the time of survey. Contraceptive use showed a strong association with number and sex composition of children with men favouring to have at least 1 or 2 sons. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that use of sterilization method (especially female sterilization) was strongly associated with having at least 1 or 2 sons. Men with daughters only and one son with daughters were more likely to use temporary methods. CONCLUSION: Among men who do not want to have more children, FP use was associated with number and sex composition of living children. Use of sterilization methods was associated with having at least 1 or 2 sons. Nepal's family planning program can be further strengthened by joining hands with initiatives aimed at promoting the value of girl child.