The current increase in Teenage Pregnancies (when a woman under 20 gets pregnant. It usually refers to teens between the ages of 15-19. But it can include girls as young as 10) has been a major concern recently as the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) has called out the attention of lawmakers to pass a law regarding this problem.
The concern arises when CPD citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), CPD, also known as Popcom, noted that a total of 3,135 adolescent girls younger than 15 years old gave birth in 2022—a 35.13 percent increase from the 2,320 recorded in 2021.
“Although live births from adolescent girls, 14 years old and below, [are] just 0.22 percent of total live births recorded, CPD is still deeply concerned about the increase in adolescent pregnancy, especially among our very young girls,” CPD executive director Lisa Grace Bersales said in a statement with Inquirer.net
According to World Health Organization (WHO), globally, the Adolescent Birth Rate (ABR) has decreased, but rates of change have been uneven across regions. There are also enormous variations in levels between and within countries. Adolescent pregnancy tends to be higher among those with less education or of low economic status. Further, there is slower progress in reducing adolescent first births amongst these and other vulnerable groups, leading to increasing inequity. Child marriage and child sexual abuse place girls at increased risk of pregnancy, often unintended.
The birth rate for Philippines in 2023 was 19.579 births per 1000 people, a 1.01% decline from 2022. The birth rate for Philippines in 2022 was 19.778 births per 1000 people, a 1% decline from 2021. The birth rate for Philippines in 2021 was 19.978 births per 1000 people, a 0.99% decline from 2020.
It also a big concern, as health authorities consider child-rearing among teen mothers “high risk,” because of complications during pregnancy that may lead to higher numbers of unhealthy, or worse, dead mothers and children.
“We cannot overemphasize the significance of having the bill enacted,” Bersales said regarding the proposed Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Act that are still pending in Congress, adding that the measure “will be essential in addressing the lingering concern of early child-bearing and motherhood among a great number of our juvenile Filipino girls.”
The House of Representatives approved last September 2023, on third and final reading by a vote of 232 with no negative vote and no abstentions a bill that aims to prevent teenage pregnancies and protect young mothers. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said House Bill (HB) No. 8910 seeks to address the social problem of early pregnancy and mothering, which has adverse effects on both the mother and the baby, and on society in general.
“The social cost of this issue and the negative impact on the national budget could run into billions – in terms of the government having to take care of young mothers and their babies. There is also the human development aspect,” Speaker Romualdez, leader of the 311-strong House of Representatives, said.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, one of the authors of HB 8910, estimated the economic cost of teen pregnancies at about P33 billion a year.
The CPD noted that the enactment of the law will be crucial to the Philippine Population and Development Plan of Action (PPD-POA) of 2023, which President Marcos approved last November.
“PPD-POA covers… the implementation and promotion of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in schools and communities, improved availability and access of adolescents to sexual and reproductive health and other social services, plus promoting and sustaining youth development and participation initiatives at the community level, with specific tactics to tackle adolescent pregnancies head-on at every level of society,” Bersales said.
CPD added that Teenage Pregnancy problem is problem that commonly be resolve within a household. There should be a proper knowledge and guidance with the parents.
“We remind the parents and guardians of our youth that their roles in their respective families cannot be simply downplayed, as they are responsible in molding their children as productive members of the larger Philippine society,” Bersales said to Inquirer.net
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1899800/popcom-deeply-concerned-about-rise-in-teen-pregnancies#ixzz8YxAclKXe
