The role of Men in Reproductive Health in Bangladesh

Recent attention on the role of men in reproductive health warranted the need for becoming of responsible partners in relation to male-involvement initiatives. This study examined the role of men on some selected reproductive health issues. Logistic regression analysis suggests that approval of husband could be an important determinant whether or not a couple would use contraception. Qualitative analysis revealed that a complex web of socio-cultural factors impeded spousal communication regarding the reproductive health issues and discouraged them to take their wives to health facilities. The analysis demonstrates that male involvement in reproductive health is an important strategy to the reach demographic goals in Bangladesh. Men in Bangladesh suffer from misinformation and require factual information from relevant sources to promote and ensure men's participation in reproductive health services. The findings suggest that more pragmatic and target-oriented programmes are required to increase male involvement in reproductive health matters; this will hasten to achieve the demographic objectives of the country.