Abstract
Use of modern contraception in Rwanda has risen dramatically over a short time period. To better understand contraceptive users’ motivations for family planning services in Rwanda, 32 in-depth interviews with contraceptive users and eight focus groups with 88 family planning providers were conducted in Rwanda’s Musanze and Nyamasheke districts. Study participants noted how family planning is critical for providing a better life for children. Family planning gives mothers independence from childcare to work in order to provide for their children’s wellbeing. Family planning presented an opportunity for generational upward mobility and was perceived as a way to contribute positively to society.
Highlights
Meeting the global need for family planning and, averting unwanted pregnancies would result in significant reductions in maternal and newborn deaths, unsafe abortions, and disability [1]
This study expands upon the existing literature by including the perspectives of family planning providers on motivations for family planning, and elucidating the motivations for and benefits from contraceptive use among female Rwandan contraceptive users—for themselves, their children, and their society, as well as operationalizing the pathway from contraceptive use to financial security for women
The eight focus group discussions were conducted with family planning providers: four with Community Health Workers (CHW) and four with family planning nurses
Summary
Meeting the global need for family planning and, averting unwanted pregnancies would result in significant reductions in maternal and newborn deaths, unsafe abortions, and disability [1]. Studies with men in Kenya, Malawi, and Togo found that the men associated family planning with the financial advantages of smaller family size [2,3,4] While both men and women in Uganda gave economic reasons for using family planning, this motivation resonated more strongly with men [5]. The government of Rwanda has worked to decentralize the health care system, establish a national health insurance program, improve and expand infrastructure, institute performance-based incentives, as well as implement and support the Community Health Worker (CHW) program [10, 14, 16, 17] This support is linked to constitutional reforms to promote gender equity with the recognition that women’s empowerment is good for individual women, their families, as well as the nation overall. This study expands upon the existing literature by including the perspectives of family planning providers on motivations for family planning, and elucidating the motivations for and benefits from contraceptive use among female Rwandan contraceptive users—for themselves, their children, and their society, as well as operationalizing the pathway from contraceptive use to financial security for women
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