title: Spousal communication in contraceptive decisions among antenatal patients in Calabar, south eastern Nigeria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to determine how many women in Calabar urban community actually discuss with their spouses about family planning, how their spouses view family planning and how that affects their usage of family planning facilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted using a structured questionnaire which was administered by house officers and medical students on one thousand consecutive patients who attended antenatal care during the study period Seven hundred patients met the inclusion criteria for the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty six percent of the respondents in the study have never discussed family planning with their spouses. About 15% of the respondents have the same view on family planning with their husbands while 11% of the women themselves do not want family planning even though their husbands wanted it.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Communication between couples about family planning should be encouraged. Whereas women have common meeting points like antenatal clinics to learn more about contraceptives and family planning, the men rarely have such opportunities. They will therefore benefit from discussing with their spouses who are opportuned to learn from the various clinics. Spousal communication should therefore be emphasized in these clinics where contraception and family planning are taught.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.
authors.forename: C U
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Iklaki
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ekabua
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abasiattai
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Bassey
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Itam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009549:Nigeria; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D014505:Urban Population