Demographic consequences, client satisfaction, and reasons for selecting sterilization among vasectomy and tubectomy clients in Bangladesh
Swenson, I.; Khan, A.R.
Contraception 25(6): 573-590
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0010-7824 PMID: 7116846 DOI: 10.1016/0010-7824(82)90059-2Document Number: 562694
A follow-up study of vasectomy and tubectomy clients in Bangladesh showed that the mean ages of vasectomy clients and their wives were significantly higher than the mean ages of tubectomy clients. These findings suggest that the number of births averted by vasectomy is less than what might be expected from tubectomy. Between 20-60% of tubectomy clients stated that they (or their husbands) had previously used contraception, while only 2% of vasectomy clients indicated that they or their wives had previously used contraception. More than 95% of tubectomy clients, compared to less than 48% of vasectomy clients, were satisfied with having a sterilization procedure. A large proportion of dissatisfied vasectomy clients indicated that they had chosen vasectomy rather than some other method of contraception primarily because of financial incentives. The small percentage of dissatisfied tubectomy clients indicated that their concern was about possibly having a child die and not being able to replace that child. Less than 30% of vasectomy clients compared to more than 70% of tubectomy clients indicated that they had recommended the procedure to another man (woman). While more than 80% of tubectomy clients cited themselves, their husbands, or a close family member as the most influential person in their decision to have a tubectomy, vasectomy clients never mentioned their wives, rarely another family member, and in less than 1/2 the cases, themselves. This study suggests that client satisfaction with tubectomy in Bangladesh can be attributed to the desire to terminate childbearing. Positive responses of tubectomy clients appear to be consistent in spite of urban-rural, religious, and socioeconomic differences as measured by education of clients and their husbands' occupation. On the other hand, lack of satisfaction of vasectomy clients can be attributed to use of incentives, causing recruitment of clients who were not primarily motivated by a desire to terminate childbearing, nor apparently in need of sterilization based on their limited reproductive potential.