What is the role of males in reproductive health?

By Brenda Zulu

What is the role of a man in reproductive health and family planning issues? To find out the gender role of men in reproductive health, I asked a few men the above question and below are some of their responses. Caution some names used in this article are not real names.

“A man should have an important role to play in reproductive health and family planning,” said James Banda popularly known as Red Linso.

Banda a renowned musician said male involvement in reproductive health and family planning was very important and bemoaned the fact that Zambian musicians had not done much sensitization on sexual reproductive health issues. He called for the need to sensitize musicians on the issue so they could compose songs with positive messages on reproductive health and family planning issues.

Banda who is also a youth activist on family planning said he learnt about family planning from pamphlets.  He called on other men to be involved in reproductive health by being advocates of family planning and reproductive health.

Meanwhile, Zebron Tembo a father of four children said he has been involved in family planning by taking his wife to the family planning clinic. After his wife gave birth recently, Tembo said he decided to go with his wife to the clinic to explore different family planning methods.

Tembo however complained that some health care providers were uncomfortable with his presence at the family planning clinic and only attend to his wife. He bemoaned the attitude of health workers towards men who visit the clinic for family planning saying that the health care provider shyed away in attending to him.

Asked what method of family planning he was using, Tembo said none.  “I am currently not using anything because my wife is still breastfeeding. Our baby is ten months old,” said Tembo.

Alfred Hara an administrative office at Life Line Zambia said there was need for men to escort their wives for antenatal when a woman was pregnant. He called on marriage counselor s “Alangizi” to include family planning as one of the issues that they should educate both men and women getting married.

“Family planning is missing from traditional counselors,” observed Hara.

Having learnt about family planning from TV and radio, Hara called on the Zambian media to educate the public on reproductive health issues much more. Hara who has been married for 19 years refused to go for vasectomy saying he was already comfortable with the condom and withdraw methods of family planning.

Meanwhile, some men spoken to feel they have nothing to do with family planning as they considered it to be a woman’s job to prevent pregnancy and not a man’s responsibility.

“I have always thought that family planning was a woman’s affair until my wife had six children,” confessed Body  Mulenga.

“My in-laws were against my wife bearing more children and during the last delivery of my sixth baby, her relatives signed for her to be sterilized,” said Mulenga. I felt very bad then but now am very grateful to my in laws.

Some unmarried men talked to say their role was just prevent pregnancy and therefore used the barrier method as they were sexually active.

“I am not a married man but am involved in family planning through advocacy,” said Goodson Chipeta aged 27 years. It is sad that there are so many unplanned pregnancies which could have been avoided if people planned for their families,” he said.

Chipeta called on parents to share news on reproductive health to their teenage children.

 “Parents need to take it upon themselves and share information on reproductive health with their children. Youths of these days have a lot of information that needs to be clarified to their children. It is sad that parents only come to act when children become pregnant or impregnate girls when it is too late,” explained Chipeta.

Lazrous Mweetwa said men should also talk about it with their wives and give them freedom to choose which family planning method suits them.  

“For me I don’t feel the condom is right for married couples.  I wish there was something like pills for men.  Abstinence is a bit difficult for me unless there is a serious problem I don’t see it as an option,” said Mweetwa.

As for 40 year Eric Chibabula , his involvement in family planning has been to cope with his 35 year old wife who had entered into early menopause at 33 years. He says ever since he learned that his wife entered menopause, he had been exploring ways in which he could cope with her change.  He said he had to go to the clinic to get more information on what menopause was and if for sure what had happened to her was true.

“At first I was using condoms because I was not sure that my wife could have entered menopause at a tender age. The good thing is that I already have 4 children with her,” explained Chibabula.