Marriage and the male contribution to unintended pregnancy: Contraceptive behavior findings from national survey data

Methods: From a nationally representative area probability sample of 4928 men (ages 15-44), a sub-sample of 2545 sexually active, non-sterile men not desiring pregnancy was selected to describe sociodemographic characteristics of men at risk of unintended pregnancy who reported using no method of contraception by himself or by his partner. Further analyses examined marital status by type of contraceptive method used. Raw numbers were weighted to U.S. averages, and contraceptive behavior results were compared to those obtained from an independent sample of women within the same national survey. Results: Relative to women, the number of men reporting no contraceptive method use increased sharply with age. This difference was most pronounced among married men; a substantially larger percentage of married men at risk of unintended pregnancy reported using no contraceptive method when compared to married women, while a smaller percentage of married men reported permanent method use for the couple compared to married women. Conclusions: Older married men contribute disproportionately to the risk of unintended pregnancy; or they are unaware of their partner's contraceptive status. These results reflect a similar trend worldwide in that older men are contributing more to the risk of unintended pregnancy than previously thought. Educational measures for reproductive health providers should incorporate marital dynamics into pregnancy prevention, and government committees should do more to tailor contraception programming to the male demographic.