A survey of 967 married women from Misamis Oriental, Philippines was conducted to examine pregnancy as a reproductive experience that may either be status-enhancing or status-degrading. In the study, pregnancy status was defined as a social position located within a set of relationships. The position involved ranking based on its importance to the society. Pregnancy status was said to be derived from the woman’s relationships with significant others as well as self definition. Findings from multivariate analyses indicated that four variables were significantly related to pregnancy status. These were: (1) number of live births; (2) modern role orientation; (3) woman’s educational attainment; and (4) age. Women who were younger and who have fewer children were found to have a higher regard for pregnancy as status-enhancing. Those who have less education and more traditional role orientation also reported higher pregnancy status evaluation. Although residence and socio-economic status were not highly correlated with pregnancy status, the analyses showed that respondents who came from rural areas and from lower socio-economic classes were more likely to perceive pregnancy as status-enhancing than those from urban areas and from higher socio- economic classes. Interestingly, women who have been married for more years, while controlling for their educational attainment and residence, were also found to have a higher regard for pregnancy while reporting higher number of unwanted births. However, when number of live births was considered, the negative relationship prevailed between marriage duration and pregnancy status. With such factors as number of live births, length of marriage, woman's educational attainment, and residence introduced in the final path model, the effect of pregnancy status on the woman's expressed number of unwanted births was analyzed. Findings from Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) analyses revealed that while number of live births was the most important indicator of unwanted births, pregnancy status also contributed to unwanted births as a direct and mediating factor. It is suggested that a woman’s perception of pregnancy as status-enhancing or degrading be considered as a supplementary factor in explaining fertility behavior. Since the present study is an initial effort to provide guidelines, further research is needed. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

Part I of the present study analyzed the acoustic features of bobwhite quail embryonic vocalizations emitted during the final 36 hours prior to hatching. Using software for sound spectrographic analyses, information was collected on the average fundamental frequency, frequency modulation and range, repetition rate, and duration in seconds of notes emitted by the embryos. Based on frequency distributions plotted separately for three of these acoustic features, the vocalizations emitted spontaneously by bobwhite quail embryos were characterized. Although there were not two dichotomous note types to justify adopting the "distress/contentment" terminology utilized by previous researchers of avian vocalizations, there was a distinctive note type with medium note duration and fast repetition rate, as well as a second common note type with short note duration and fast repetition rate. Evidence from precocial neonates of several species indicates that altering the usual prenatal sound environment alters later perceptual performance. Part II of the present study examined the influence of altered prenatal auditory stimulation (in the form of embryonic vocalizations altered in repetition rate) on postnatal auditory preferences in precocial bobwhite quail chicks. Results indicate that when embryos are exposed to altered prenatal auditory stimulation in the period immediately prior to hatching, their postnatal auditory preference behavior is altered. Specifically, when exposed to a repetition rate that is (only slightly) faster than the species-typical rate for embryos, quail hatchlings did not show a strong preference for the maternal call typically seen at 24 hr post-hatch. Chicks that were exposed prenatally to either unaltered auditory stimulation or auditory stimulation with a slower-than-normal repetition rate did demonstrate the species-typical naive auditory preference. These findings illustrate the importance of understanding the subtle experiential links between the prenatal sensory environment and early postnatal perceptually-directed behavior. / Master of Science