Decision Making and Family Planning Use in Cebu, Philippines

Kammi K. Schmeer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This study examines the relationship between decision-making and family planning use by married women in Cebu, Philippines. Of particular interest is how autonomous decision making by women differentially affects use and method of family planning compared with joint or spouse-controlled decision making. Autonomous decision making is measured by who women consult and whose will prevails in the decision to use family planning. Findings indicate that women whose will prevails are much more likely to use contraception, and modern over traditional methods, than when spouses' will prevails. When considered together, women who consult their spouse and manage to have their will prevail have the highest probability of contraceptive use. The findings suggest that contraceptive use is highest when women are able to go beyond autonomous decision making and negotiate family planning use with their spouses so that their interests are represented.