Having a Say Matters: Influence of Women’s Household Decision-making Power on Contraceptive Use among Nigerian Women aged 35-49 years

Women aged 35 and older are often left out of the conversation on contraception. This study seeks to examine the influence of household decision-making power on current modern contraceptive use among Nigerian women aged 35-49 years, using secondary data from the 2008 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey. Non-pregnant women who were 35-49 years of age were eligible to be included in the analysis. The key independent variable was women’s decision-making power and assessed based on a score, calculated using principal component analysis. The mean (SE) age of women in the sample was 40.8 (0.07) years. All women (4827) were married or cohabiting with a partner, with 37.5% in polygamous unions, and 18.7% using a modern contraceptive method. Contraceptive users reported higher decision-making scores, were younger, more educated, richer and were not in polygamous unions. Following multivariate logistic regression, decision-making power remained independently associated with modern contraceptive use. Women in the highest tertile of household decision-making had a 61% higher odds of modern contraceptive use when compared with women in the lowest tertile [OR: 1.61 (1.25, 2.08)]. Programs and policies that encourage women to be involved in household decision-making will also be encouraging them to make a choice regarding modern contraception.