Childbearing intentions, fertility awareness knowledge and contraceptive use among female university students in Cameroon

Abstract

Objectives The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between fertility awareness knowledge, and contraceptive use among sexually active female university students (FUS) in Cameroon. Methods This study was designed as a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey that was conducted between July and August 2018. We extracted and analyzed relevant data (i.e., socio-demographic characteristics, sexual behavior, fertility-related characteristics, and contraceptive use) using a modified Poisson regression with a robust variance estimator. Prevalence Ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated, and statistical significance was set at P≤0.05. Results The median age of the sexually active FUS was 23 years (IQR = 21–25) and 99.3% indicated that they wanted to have children. Only 49.3% knew their fertile period and 62.5% of the sexually active FUS were current contraceptive users. We found a statistically significant association between fertility awareness knowledge and period abstinence (PR = 1.57;95%CI: 1.02–2.44, p = 0.049). In multivariate adjusted models, there was a statistically significant association between fertility awareness knowledge and male condom use (APR = 1.29; 95% CI:1.02–1.64, p-value = 0.032) and the withdrawal method (APR = 1.40;95% CI:1.02–1.93, p = 0.038). We found a statistically significant effect modification of “preferred timing to have children” on the association between fertility awareness knowledge and withdrawal method use. There was no association between fertility awareness knowledge and the use of oral contraceptive pills. Conclusion Most of the female students intend to have children in the future, but their fertility awareness knowledge was suboptimal. There was a statistically significant relationship between fertility awareness knowledge, and the use of male condoms and the withdrawal method. The study underscores the need for FUS to be targeted with interventions to help them gain knowledge of their menstrual cycle to better plan or avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Women's fertility knowledge and their number of children ever born: A cross‐sectional study in Shiraz, Iran

“…30 The findings of this study revealed that respondents have a high degree of knowledge regarding age and pregnancy, with around 83.5% of them correctly answering the question, "At what age is it easier to become pregnant?" This finding can be considered inconsistent with the results of some previous studies [31][32][33] and similar to the results of some other studies. 34 Probably, the high level of knowledge among…”

Prevalence and determinants of repeat induced abortion in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This meta-analysis shows that women who have multiple sexual partners are more likely to have repeat-induced abortions. This is in line with the study done in Cambodia [ 57 ] and the USA [ 58 ]. The possible explanation is that having multiple sexual partners will expose a woman to unstable relationships and several sexual episodes in sex, which leads to irregular use of contraceptives and unintended pregnancy, and subsequent abortion [ [19] , [57] , [59] ,].…”

Attitudes toward fertility and childbearing among female University students

“…Chan et al (9) reported that having a stable partner to share responsibilities with is crucial in childbearing decisions. Söderberg et al (18) found that women with a partner had more positive attitudes in the future importance of childbearing and female identity subscales. In many studies, it was also reported that engaged and married female students had more positive attitudes towards parenthood and childbearing, (19) and that not finding the right partner, (9) having a partner with common characteristics, (28) having a stable relationship, and sharing responsibilities with the partner, were important in the decision to become a parent.…”

“…(17) Another study in female university students in Cameroon, showed that most of the female students intend to have children in the future, but their fertility awareness knowledge was suboptimal. (18) Considering the fact that a deeper understanding of the attitudes towards fertility and motherhood may help clarify the decision to have children among young individuals in Turkish young females, there is a great need for further study in this area. Therefore the current study aimed to determine the attitude towards fertility and childbearing in female university students…”