Knowledge, Approval and Communication About Family Planning as Correlates of Desired Fertility Among Spouses in Pakistan

Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey are used to identify the factors associated with desired fertility in Pakistan. In urban areas, 40% of men and 50% of women do not want more children, compared with 26% of men and 37% of women in rural areas. Urban men and women are equally likely to approve of family planning, whereas among rural residents, men are significantly more likely than women to approve. In both settings, men are more likely than women to know of a source of supply. Multivariate analyses indicate that a couple’s approval of family planning, knowledge of a source of family planning and discussion about family planning are correlated with the desire to have no additional children, and the relationship is particularly strong among rural residents. The influence of the spouse’s fertility desire and of communication about family planning suggest that concerted efforts to educate men about reproductive and child health and to facilitate communication between husbands and wives would assist couples in agreeing upon and meeting their reproductive goals.