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Teenage pregnancy in PHL seen rising post-pandemic, signaling new trend for ‘younger childbearing’
OCUSFOCUS | DREAMSTIME.COM
WHEN CHILDREN BEAR CHILDREN By Roderick L. Abad
T
Contributor
ACLOBAN CITY, Leyte—Early childbearing is seen to become more prevalent anew in the Philippines, as it breeds an alarming new trend post-pandemic, when restrictive health protocols on social or physical distancing is no longer in effect, following the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Philippine government’s declaration of the end of Covid-19 being a health emergency here and abroad.
“Teenage pregnancy is a health and social economic issue in the Philippines and around the world, not only because pregnancy rates among teenagers remain significantly high, but also and most importantly, because of its implication on the growth, development and well-being of both a pregnant teenage mom and her child during the pregnancy and after childbirth,” said Vanessa G. Retuerma, director of Strategy Management, Impact and Learning Department of World Vision, during the Policy Forum on Teenage Pregnancy in Eastern Visayas held by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and World Vision on September 6 in Tacloban City, Leyte. According to Retuerma, the lifecycle of a child’s development
lasts until the teenage years—a very crucial stage where children’s bodies grow and develop physically, discover their interests and talents, begin to dream and aspire, and learn how to navigate life through their education, experiences and relationship. “So there are many factors that we need to consider for us to ensure that all children meet their needs to help them grow healthy, well nourished, be educated, be protected and, most importantly, be empowered,” she said.
By the numbers
ADOLESCENT birth rate, while a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator in itself, is also closely related with other SDGs, the closest of which are SDG 3
(Health), SDG 4 (Education), and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). All these seek a healthy life, well-being, inclusive and equitable education and environment for all, including children and women for a brighter future. In June, the WHO reported that an estimated 21 million girls aged 15 to 19 years in developing regions, including the Philippines, become pregnant, and approximately 12 million of them give birth. Globally, adolescent birth rate (ABR) has gone down from 64.5 births per 1,000 women of the same age group in 2000 to 41.3 births for 1,000 women in 2023. “Pregnancy among teenagers is more common among people with less education, or lower in socioeconomic level. Additionally, among these and other vulnerable populations, there is a lower success in adolescent first birth, which results in growing inequality,” noted United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)-Philippines Project Coordinator Hanzel Luke P. Devera. Such trend also holds true in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, wherein 23 million adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old are currently married or in union, of which over 80 percent are girls. Majority or 15 million of them live in Southeast Asia. Across the region, 1 in 8 adolescent girls of the same age, and 1 in 50 boys are currently married or in union. In Southeast Asia, 9 percent to 32 percent of adolescent pregnancies under 18 were conceived prior to marriage or cohabitation. This case is rather high in the Philip-
pines at 32.4 percent, followed by Vietnam, 32 percent; Indonesia, 26 percent; Laos, 24.4 percent; Timor Leste, 19.5 percent; and Cambodia, 9 percent. “Premarital pregnancies often lead to circumstantial child marriage to avoid social sanctions associated with [it] and or sexual activity in a conservative setting,” Devera underscored. Based on the 2022 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the adolescent birth rate seems to have been declining from 56 in 2020 to 25 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19. This trend follows even in regional levels like for Eastern Visayas, wherein it’s also the case for 245 respondents of the same age group of the female populace in the region, dropping to 4.7 percent last year from 6.9 percent recorded in 2017. “Such statistics had quite gone down a little bit as we take into consideration the existence of the pandemic [during the time] that actually limited the interaction of our adolescents aged 15 to 19 with their respective peers. But based on the study, it is expected to rise again starting 2022 when the pandemic slackened and seems that we’re now in to face-to-face,” Commission on Population and Development (CPD) Region 8 Director Elnora R. Pulma told reporters in a briefing during the forum.
Impacts of early child bearing
DATA show that adult men older than 20 years old father a significant proportion, or 59.5 percent, of adolescent pregnancies. These could be attributed to various so-
cial determinants. Devera cited them as lower educational attainment and economic status, poor access to contraception, challenges in the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education, and limited service delivery points providing adolescent and youth-friendly SRH services. “So over the years, the evidence and progress of the adolescent pregnancy have expanded with this new trend, bringing in a richer set of policy and heightened a sense of urgency in tackling the issue. Today, we know that adolescent pregnancy takes a great toll on girls, their families and, of course, their future,” he said.
On education, the impact would be measured on the predicted high-school completion rate of 72 percent for those without early childbearing before the age of 18 as compared to 65 percent for those who get pregnant before reaching such legal age. Economic-wise, the lifetime wage earnings foregone by a cohort of women 18 to 19 years old resulting from early childbearing is estimated to be around P33 billion. “We are taking from young adult opportunities to earn this wage because of adolescent pregnancy,” Devera said, while citing birth by women below 19 years old have two times the risk of dying Continued on A2
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PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.8490 n JAPAN 0.3860 n UK 70.9134 n HK 7.2522 n CHINA 7.7560 n SINGAPORE 41.6323 n AUSTRALIA 36.2526 n EU 60.8284 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1569 Source: BSP (September 8, 2023)