Male Knowledge of His Partner’s Contraceptive Method and Likelihood of Fathering a Pregnancy [20F]

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Many forms of contraception are female-dependent and may not be evident to sexual partners. Less than half of men who are sexually active but do not want to father a child have partners who consistently use contraception. This study examines whether male knowledge of his partner’s birth control method is associated with having impregnated a partner. METHODS: We used data from the 2011-2013 National Surveys of Family Growth. Our sample included sexually active men 15-45 years of age who had never been married. Unadjusted t-tests and linear regression assessed whether knowledge of his last partner’s birth control method was associated with having fathered a pregnancy. RESULTS: Our sample included 1,845 males. 477 (25.85%) had fathered a pregnancy. At last sexual intercourse, 45.20% (n=834) reported that their partner used female-dependent contraception, defined as a contraceptive method other than male condoms, withdrawal or male sterilization. 49.70% (n=917) reported that their partner did not use female-dependent contraception, and 5.09% (n=94) did not know what contraception, if any, their partner used. There were no significant differences in rates of having fathered a pregnancy in unadjusted comparisons between groups. When adjusting for age, number of sexual partners, use of male-dependent contraception, and knowledge of contraception prior to first sex there remained no statistically significant association between male’s knowledge of his partner’s contraceptive method and having fathered a pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Among unmarried men, knowledge of a current partner’s contraceptive method is not significantly associated with having fathered a pregnancy.