Men’s Fertility Beliefs, Intentions, and Contraceptive Use

Despite advancements in reproductive technology, gender-inclusive approaches remain limited, and research on men’s reproductive health is scarce. Specifically, little is known about how men conceptualize reproductive health and how perspectives vary by race and social class. As such, the purpose of this study is to further the field’s understanding of men’s reproductive health, including fertility beliefs, intentions, and behaviors. Guided by the theory of conjunctural action, this study uses survey-driven narrative construction to explore how 35 men think about their reproductive health and how this varies by race and class. The main benefit of using this method is that it allows researchers to study small unique populations that are hard to reach and would be difficult to study otherwise. This study focuses on 35 men who said they (definitely) did not want a child before their current wife/partner became pregnant for the first time. Findings show three main themes: (1) men’s contraceptive behavior is inconsistent with their fertility beliefs and intentions, (2) contraceptive responsibility is women’s responsibility, and (3) pregnancy unwantedness does not always translate to unhappiness. Men’s contraceptive use showed the most variation in terms of race and income. For example, although findings reveal that men’s contraceptive use was highest the first time they and their respective partners had sex, white men and middle-income men reported the most contraceptive non-use. That is, out of all the racial categories, it was mostly white men who did not report using contraception the first time they had sex with their current partner. Similarly, the majority of middle-income men did not use contraception the first time they had sex with their current partner. Overall, study findings suggest that men take less contraceptive responsibility than their partners and despite not wanting to get their partner pregnant, these men were generally happy after they found out about a pregnancy. Moreover, contraceptive responsibility remains unequally shared among heterosexual partners, in which men tend to rely on their wife/partner for contraceptive protection.Advisor: Kimberly Tyler