Household Fertility Decisions in West Africa: A Comparison of Male and Female Survey Results

This study compares the responses of matched husbands and wives in monogamous and polygynous unions, in the Yoruba village of Bolorunduro in Ondo State, Nigeria, with respect to a variety of family planning and fertility-related attitudes and behaviors. The results suggest that, although the husband and wife responses on the family planning and achieved fertility items were generally similar, responses relating to prospective fertility intentions were very different between husbands and wives. The results are consistent with the notion that fertility intention orientations in this particular culture operate essentially on an individual and not a family level. Women, whether in monogamous or polygynous unions, have fertility preferences that, while normatively bound, are clearly individual preferences and not necessarily related to their husbands' desires.