The Impact of Type of Employment on Women's Use of Prenatal-Care Services and Family Planning in Urban Cebu, the Philippines

Abstract

This study re-evaluates the relationship of urban women's employment to their health-service and contraceptive use, drawing on data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. Multivariate analyses reveal significant differences across types of work for the likelihood of both obtaining timely prenatal care and practicing contraception at one year postpartum. Wage workers in white-collar jobs are significantly more likely than those not employed for pay to have obtained prenatal care and are substantially more likely to have adopted a contraceptive method in the year following childbirth. Women who are self-employed also are significantly more likely than those not employed for pay to be using contraceptives. Blue-collar wage work and piecework employment have no relationship to either dependent variable. These findings suggest that work-related autonomy encourages women to exercise control in other areas of their lives.