Male fertility and sexual behaviour
Muvandi, I.
Africa Link a Publication of the Africa Region 1996: 28-29
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0250-698X PMID: 12292584 Document Number: 306370
Men in Kenyan society are expected to marry by a certain age and impotence is not respected. These factors influence men's decisions on marriage and fertility. More than 80% of Kenyan men know about family planning, but only 29% currently practice contraceptive use. Men more often than women decide upon contraceptive use and the period of postpartum sexual abstinence is very limited throughout most of the country. 27% of men interviewed in the Machakos, Kajiado, Nyeri, Migori, Mombasa, and Kakamega districts of Kenya had their first sexual intercourse before age 15 years, 63% did so between ages 15 and 19 years, and slightly more than two-thirds were currently married, with 9% having two wives and 14% reporting their intention to marry more wives. The mean rate of total fertility for the men was 7.27 children, due mainly to polygamy and the desire for sons and old age security. The men, however, reported 4.48 children as the mean ideal number to have. Although the majority of Kenyan men have heard about AIDS, they do not seem to be knowledgeable on the modes of transmission. Approximately 48% of men who had extramarital sexual intercourse never used a condom with their wives and 14% believe that they are not vulnerable to HIV. Most men heard about family planning for the first time over the radio and 89% reported having access to one, although the most commonly known sources of family planning methods and information are government health facilities. Recommendations for action are offered.