Men's and Women's Attitudes and Couple Agreement regarding Pregnancy Wantedness in the Philippines

Teresa Sobieszczyk, University of Michigan
Lindy Williams, Cornell University

In this study, we aim to extend understanding of the influence of men in fertility decision-making by focusing on an issue rarely examined in such analyses-pregnancy wantedness. We employ a framework for analyzing men's reproductive attitudes laid out by Biddlecom, Casterline, and Perez (1997) that suggests comparing men's and women's attitudes as well as exploring couple agreement on fertility issues. Focusing on the Philippines, a country where relatively high levels of unintended pregnancy persist, we examine men's and women's views and couple agreement regarding the timing and occurrence of their most recent pregnancies. We use both survey and in-depth interview data from a 1993 research project on contraception and fertility in the Philippines to explore several factors that influence couple agreement regarding pregnancy wantedness, including equality of spouses in terms of age and decision-making authority, and frequency and effectiveness of discussing fertility preferences, sex, and family planning issues.