Involvement of males in promoting reproductive health

At the international conference on Population and Development held in Cairo 1994, specific aspects of reproductive health addressed endorsed among others, were that unwanted pregnancies must always be given the highest priority and that every attempt should be made to eliminate the need for abortion. This paper focused on the involvement of males in promoting reproductive health through prevention of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. A total of 71 males (48 adults and 23 adolescents) were selected conveniently from two health care centres, North of Tshwane, Gauteng province. Structured questionnaires having open and closed questions were used for data collection. Results indicated that most males (young and old) had general information about contraceptives and common side effects associated with contraceptive use. Despite this knowledge, only (29.2%) adults and almost half the number (50.0%) adolescents reportedly used condoms every time when having sex, whilst (35.0%) adults and only (13.6%) adolescents had never used condoms when having sex. Generally, males felt positive and wished to be involved in issues affecting their relationships, such as open communication about contraceptives used by their partners, discussing contraceptive problems together, planning families jointly with partner only, being informed about contraceptive failures and also playing a role in resolving such problems. Recommendations were made to encourage more visible involvement of males in promoting sexuality issues and reproductive health.