Attitudes and Roles in Fertility and Family Planning Decision Making among Men and Women from Uttar Pradesh, India: A Focus on the Urban Poor

Priya Nanda, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
Pranita Achyut, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
Lisa M. Calhoun, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Anurag Mishra, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
Ravi K. Verma, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

The scope of research on family planning knowledge and decision-making has expanded over recent decades from a nearly exclusive focus on women’s knowledge, attitudes and intentions to a more comprehensive approach that emphasizes the importance of men’s involvement. This study examines the determinants of fertility desires, contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, decision making and use among urban women and men in 4 urban cities in Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were collected from approximately 3,000 currently married women and 1,500 currently married men in each of the four cities. Our findings demonstrate similarities and differences between women’s and men’s fertility and family planning attitudes and their unmet need for modern contraception. The findings from this study that includes a large, representative sample of women and men from four major urban areas contributes to our understanding of how to better meet the family planning needs of urban poor and non-poor in Uttar Pradesh.