Males skirting onus of birth control

Men’s response to family planning, especially vasectomy, limited in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW: Are males stopping the progress of family planning drive in the state? Are they forcing women to adopt family planning methods but are reluctant to undergo vasectomy? The district level household facility and survey report -3 (DLHF 3) has put a big question mark on the success of various family planning programmes going on in the state, courtesy poor male performance.

In Lucknow, only 0.5 % of males are opting for family planning operation (vasectomy) and only 18.9 % women opting for tubectomy. When it comes to Uttar Pradesh, 3,70,478 tubectomies were performed in the state but only 9,013 males opted for vasectomy.

Only 46 % of couples are using some sort of family planning method while 54 % of couples are not using any family planning device. Despite crores of rupees spent on advertisements and other promotional events to encourage family planning, the results are not encouraging.

About 55% of the families in the state capital have three or more children, resulting in population boom.

It took only 20 years for the population in the city to sell to 47 lakh from 27 lakh, says the survey, which also highlights that 20% women give birth to children unwillingly as they fail to plan their family.

Call it lack of effort or failure of schemes, the myth of becoming impotent and not able to perform heavy work after vasectomy still prevails among men, says an official of the family planning department on condition of anonymity.

The response of males to birth control is limited to use of condoms.

About 11.8 % males use condoms as a measure to control birth, while 2.8 % women use Copper T to ward off unwant- ed pregnancy.

Director General family health VP Gupta says, “It’s not that the picture is totally bleak. There have been achievements too. But we need to improve a lot.”