Philippine Information Agency

The risks of teenage pregnancy

By Jerome Carlo R. PaunanPublished On September 5, 2019
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones (center) and DOH Secretary Grancisco Duque III discusses the
government’s efforts to improve adolescent and youth education, health, and development the Kapit-
Kamay: Empowering the Youth to Make Informed Choice” Summit held at the PICC, Aug. 30, 2019.
(Photo courtesy of DepEd)

The issue of teenage pregnancy is widespread in various parts of the country. Today, we face the
painful reality that at a very young age, most young people have children of their own.

During the World Population Day Forum held in Quezon City last July 2019, the Commission on
Population (Popcom) raised concerns about early and unplanned pregnancies by citing that
around 500 teenage girls have given birth in the country every day as more adolescents engage in
premarital sex. Popcom said some 196,000 Filipinos between the ages of 15 and 19 years old get
pregnant each year.

In the Philippines, according to the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) and
the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFSS), the number of women aged 15-19
who have begun childbearing increased from eight percent in 2003 to 10 percent in 2013.

The YAFSS study showed an increase in teenage fertility from 6.3 percent in 2002 to 13.6
percent in 2013. While a more recent 2017 NDHS study revealed that the issue of adolescent
fertility is important for both health and social reasons as children born to very young mothers
are at increased risk of sickness and death. The study further said that teenage mothers are more
likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes and to be constrained in their ability to pursue
educational opportunities than young women who delay childbearing.

Also based on the survey, rural teenagers start childbearing slightly earlier than their urban
counterpart with 10 percent and seven percent respectively.

No less than Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia emphasized that the rising
teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines has contributed to the country's population "crisis”.

"We are seeing the height of the crisis now. The carrying capacity of the country is
overstretched. It results to lack of jobs because there are many workers looking for jobs. There
are fewer job opportunities," Pernia said.

About 2 million babies are born in the country annually, according to a 2015 Census data and the
Philippines now ranks 13th among countries with the biggest population in the world, according
to Popcom.

While it is possible for a teen, who becomes pregnant, to experience a healthy pregnancy and be
an excellent parent, many pregnant and parenting teenagers struggle with multiple stressors,
health risks and other complex issues. Being pregnant as a teenager puts you at higher risk for
having a baby born too early, with a low birth weight and, tragically, higher risk of death.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III delivers his message on the importance of empowering the youth
to make informed choices at the National Summit on Teenage Pregnancy held at the PICC. (Photo
courtesy of DOH)
 The World Health Organization in 2015 said an estimated 1.2-million adolescents aged 10-19
years died worldwide. It said pregnancy during adolescence is associated with higher risk of
health problems like anemia, sexually transmitted infections, unsafe abortion, postpartum
hemorrhage, and mental disorders, such as depression.

Adolescents becoming pregnant at an early age have associated risk factors such as having
multiple partners and having greater age differences with their partners, which may put them at
greater risk of acquiring HIV.

In the Philippines, children born to adolescent mothers are more likely to die compared to
children of older mothers. Youth in the country are also at risk for multiple pregnancies in their
adolescence. Filipino teen mothers aged 15-19 average 17 months between previous pregnancies
compared to the average of 35 months for mothers of all ages.

If a pregnancy is unplanned, the mother may not receive the prenatal care she and her baby need
or may not even be healthy enough to carry a child to term.

Adolescents are often unprepared for the realities involved in parenting an infant and often,
complex relationships, financial burden, social stigma and parenting are stressful and can put a
newborn at risk.

Some teen parents are also single and being a solo parent can have financial and emotional
stressors and a stressed parent puts a baby at risk. Social stigma may also lead a teen mother to
voluntary abortion.

To fulfill government’s mandate to improve adolescent and youth education, health, and
development, the Department of Education and Department of Health organized a summit for
national convergence and dialogue on the complex issues on early pregnancy dubbed “Kapit-
Kamay: Empowering the Youth to Make Informed Choice” held at the Philippine International
Convention Center in Pasay City.

The summit took a closer look into the phenomenon of early pregnancy within the context of
education, health and development and brought together government, the private sector,
development partners, civil society organizations, and adolescent and youth-led organizations to
provide a platform for understanding of the phenomenon of early pregnancy. The gathering also
identified opportunities for convergence and collaboration to deepen understanding and work on
ways forward.

The event also paved the way for stakeholders to identify common ground, existing interventions
and the formulation of platforms to continue policy advocacy and program implementation to
address the concern. (PIA InfoComm)

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