Rural Sociology 65(3), 2000, pp . 484-514 Copyright © 2000 by the Rural Sociological Society Couples' Views about Planning Fertility in the Philippines* Lindy Williams, Teresa Sobieszczyk Department of Rural Sociology Cornell University Aurora Perez Population Institute University of the Philippines, Diliman ABSTRACT This research examines Filipino couples' attitudes toward the occurrence and timing of their most recent pregnancies . Differences be- tween processes operating in rural and urban areas are highlighted . Spe- cific topics include the role of couples' fertility preferences in predicting the intention status of pregnancies, the effect of personal agency in deci- sion making about contraception and childbearing, and whether women who are better able to communicate with their husbands about sex and re- lated matters are more able than other women to avoid unintended births. These topics are explored through survey data and in-depth interviews. Although fertility has declined substantially in much of Southeast Asia, relatively high fertility persists in the Philippines . In part because of the influence of the Catholic Church, widespread adoption of artificial birth control methods has been slow to occur . Despite abundant anecdotal evidence about couples who are willing to have as many children as God sends, this research examines the extent to which recent fertility was reported as "unintended" (not wanted, at least at that time) among a sample of Filipino couples . We analyze both women's and men's views about their recent pregnancies, and we compare data on the intention status of births to parents from two communities, one rural and one urban, on the island of Luzon . We analyze survey data and transcripts from in-depth individual interviews to investigate issues surrounding the wantedness and the timing of those pregnancies. * The data for this study were collected as part of a broader project studying un- met needs for family planning in the Philippines . The principal investigators on the project were John Casterline, now of the Population Council, and Aurora Perez, at the University of the Philippines . Substantial input on the project was contributed by Ann Biddlecom, at the University of Michigan, and Joy Baltazar, Florio Arguillas, and a number of others at the University of the Philippines . We are grateful to all involved for their various roles in the project design, data collection, and other con- tributions . We also very much appreciate the comments of John Casterline, Susan Watkins, and the anonymous reviewers on earlier drafts of this paper . Financial sup- port for the research was provided by the Evaluation Project (University of North Carolina), the Ford Foundation office in Manila, and the Mellon Foundation . Please direct all correspondence to : Lindy Williams, Department of Rural Sociology, 118 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 .