The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy in Family Life as perceived by selected

women of Muntinlupa City ages 13 to 17 years old.

A Thesis Output
Presented to
The Faculty of Political Science Department
College of Arts & Science

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for
Quantitative Analysis of Political Data

Proponents:

John Rey B. Doroja

Leonida B. Ching
Ruth Ann P. Solitario
Maui J. Zamora

Mr. Christian Paul A. Dela Vega, LPT,MPA

Course Adviser/Professor

2020
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 Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa
University Road, NBP Reservation, Brgy. Poblacion
Muntinlupa City, Philippines

APPROVAL SHEET

This academic paper hereto entitled:

The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy in Family Life as perceived by selected

women of Muntinlupa City ages 13 to 17 years old.

Prepared and submitted by John Rey B. Doroja, Lenida B. Ching, Ruth Ann P. Solitario and
Maui J. Zamora. In partial fullfilment of the requirement for Quantitative Analysis of Political
Data has been examined and recomended for acceptance and approval for ORAL
PRESENTATION

Christian Paul A. Dela Vega LPT, MPA

Course Adviser

Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with a grade of

PASSED on__________

_________________________ _________________________
Chair Member

________________________ _________________________
Member Member

Remedios R. Cunanan, PhD

Officer-In-Charge, College of Arts & Science

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

With so much love and appreciation, the researchers want to thank our God the Father

for guidance, knowledge and wisdom in completing the research well especially for

the provision and making us safe in every step of the way while doing this research.

We are also would like to thank and sincerely grateful to our Professor Mr. Paul A.

Dela Vega, for all the help, motivation, patience, encouragements, understanding and

for spending his time and efforts especially his knowledge.

and gratitude from the hearth for inspiring us and to show by unleash our potential

and capabilities motivate us and your sharing many option to make it easier and make

our research better.

The student researcher also thankful to those young teenager and their families as

well by sharing us their private issues and problems that they are faced even though

it’s a private issue that only families can know, and we appreciate your cooperation

we are thankful to know your wonderful stories.

We are also acknowledging our parent for supporting us, giving us care and love for

what we are doing and still at our back anytime that we need them.

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 HONOR STATEMENT

We attest that this research paper we have submitted is our own. We have not cheated,

plagiarized, nor receive unauthorized assistance in the completion of this paper.

We have obtained the required prior consent for the use of the data for this research.

We understand that Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, College of Arts &

Science – Political Science Department may impose commensurate sanctions and

penalties for instances of academic dishonesty committed in the completion of this

paper.

Printed Name Over Signature of Proponents

John Rey B. Doroja

Leonida B. Ching

Ruth Ann P. Solitario

Maui J. Zamora

CERTIFICATE OF EDITING

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This document certifies that the manuscript listed below was edited for proper English

language, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and overall style by a highly qualified

professional editor.

MANUSCRIPT TITLE:

The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy in Family Life as percieved by selected women of

muntinlupa city ages 13 to 17 years old.

PROPONENTS:

Leonida B. Ching

John Rey B. Doroja

Ruth Ann P. Solitario

Maui J. Zamora

DATE EDITED:

____________________________________

Printed Name Over Signature of Editor

Institutional Affiliation:

Baccalaureate Degree:

This certificate may be verified by a business correspondence to the editor via his/her email or contact number. Neither the

research content nor the authors' intentions were altered in any way during the editing process.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page.........................................................................................................................
Approval Sheet................................................................................................................i

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Acknowledgment...........................................................................................................ii
Honor Statement...........................................................................................................iii
Certificate of Editing.....................................................................................................iv
Table of Contents...........................................................................................................v
CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................1
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Background of the Study................................................................................................3
Statement of the Problem...............................................................................................4
Significant of the Study..................................................................................................5
Scope and Limitation.....................................................................................................8
CHAPTER II: Review of Related Literature............................................................8
Foreign Studies...............................................................................................................8
Journal............................................................................................................................8
Newspaper......................................................................................................................8
Local Literatures............................................................................................................8
CHAPTER III: Methodology......................................................................................8
Research Instrument.......................................................................................................8
Respondents of the study...............................................................................................8
Data Gathering Procedure..............................................................................................8
Statistical Treatment of Data..........................................................................................8
Survey Questionaire.......................................................................................................8
CHAPTER IV...............................................................................................................8
Data Presentation and Analysis......................................................................................8
CHAPTER V................................................................................................................8
Summary........................................................................................................................8
Conclusion......................................................................................................................8
Recommendation............................................................................................................8
Bibliography...................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 1

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Introduction

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 The World Health Organization (WHO), stated that 16 million girls aging

between 15 and 19 years and about one million girls younger than 15 years give

birth every year. Nowadays, the vast majority of teenage pregnancies occur in low-

and middle-income countries characterized by poor health-care services; therefore,

complications during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum phase are the second cause

of death among girls aging between 15 and 19 years worldwide. Additionally, it is

estimated that some three million teenage girls undergo unsafe abortions, which

may result in consecutive reproductive problems or even death. The past fifteen

years ago, The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

reported that worldwide every fifth child is born by an adolescent mother and 80%

of these so-called teenage pregnancies occur in third-world countries. Although in

traditional societies the majority of these pregnancies are socially desired, several

studies have pointed out the enormous risks which are associated with teenage

pregnancies, such as anemia, preterm labor, urinary tract infections, preeclampsia,

high rate of cesarean sections, preterm birth, and low birth weight infants and even

maternal and newborn mortality. However, it still also occur in high-income

countries and despite much better medical care teenage pregnancies are also

considered as risky and policy tries to avoid too early motherhood. This is not only

due to medical problems, but first of all the social consequences of teenage

motherhood. Therefore, the analyses of causes and consequences of teenage

pregnancies have been the topic of much research and debate.

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 This is alarming because in the Philippines, the maternal deaths are

decreasing while the teenage maternal deaths are increasing. Ten percent of

pregnant teenagers died in the last year, according to the PSA. Data from the WHO

also show a high and increasing incidence of fetal death in Filipino mothers under 20.

In the Philippines the data show that the pregnant teenagers are mostly 17 to 19

years old. They live with their mothers, parents, or relatives and the father of the

child is, in most cases, a teenage boy. There are a lot of reasons for becoming

pregnant among teenagers include: unplanned sexual encounters (“getting caught

up in the moment”) and peer pressure; lack of information on safe sex; breakdown

of family life and lack of good female role models in the family; and absence of

accessible, adolescent-friendly clinics. In the Philippines, children born to adolescent

mothers are more likely to die compared to children of older mothers. The Youth

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. Teenagers from poor backgrounds are

disproportionately represented among pregnant teenagers, perpetuates the cycle of

poverty and inequality because most pregnant teenagers have no source of income

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and face greater financial difficulties later in life. This is because they drop out of

school and are less likely to pursue further education or skills training.

However, experts have argued that teenage pregnancy should be

understood as a symptom of dire economic conditions rather than a cause of it.

Teenage mothers face critical health risks, including: inadequate nutrition during

pregnancy due to poor eating habits; dangers associated with the reproductive

organs not ready for birth; and maternal death due to higher risk of eclampsia,

among others.

At the end of the teenage pregnancy summit, the participants strongly

endorsed a comprehensive sexual education curriculum; forging a “Batang Ina”

social movement; and establishing adolescent-friendly spaces. The enactment of the

Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act was also recognized as an

important step to make ASRH services more accessible to those in need. 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.

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 also

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said some 196,000 Filipinos between the ages of 15 and 19 years old get pregnant

each year. Last July 2019, in Quezon City during the World Population Day Forum.

The National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) and the 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 in the

Philippines.

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.

According to a 2015 Census data about 2 million babies are born in the

country annually, and the Philippines now ranks 13th among countries with the

biggest population in the world, based in Popcom.

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On April 24, 2014, the National Youth Commission, convened National Summit on

Teen Pregnancy and supported by the Department of Health and the World Health

Organization. This summit, which saw the active participation of adolescent youth,

delivered a clear message: Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), or the

lack thereof, is fast becoming the defining issue of this generation of young Filipinos.

Without a robust response from all stakeholders, the Philippines is on track toward a

full-blown, national teenage pregnancy crisis.

Staggering facts support this call for concern. Recent (2014) data from the Philippine

Statistical Authority (PSA) reveal that every hour, 24 babies are delivered by teenage

mothers. Based on the study, of 2014 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS)

around 14 percent of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 are either pregnant for the first time

or are already mothers—more than twice the rate recorded in 2002. The Philippines

has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies among six major economies in the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the only country where the rate is

increasing, per the United Nations Population Fund.

The YAFS coordinator and director of the University of the Philippines

Population Institute, Josefina Natividad, stated that young Filipinos have limited

access to sex education and ASRH services, especially if they are underage and

unmarried. Seventy-eight percent are not using any form of contraception or

protection against sexually transmitted diseases and infections when they are having

sex for the first time. While government programs aim to delay the beginning of

childbearing and hasten fertility decline, teenage pregnancies continue to increase.

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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. 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.

Teenage pregnancy is among the most thoroughly studied social

consequences of Family life problems. This study will find that whether early

pregnancy triggers poor family life, or whether it has no effect with the quality of

family life, the grassroots of teenage pregnancy and the effect on society comprised

by different families. Teenage pregnancy remains a challenge requiring urgent

resolution the world over (United Nations Population Fund, 2013). Teenage

pregnancy refers to female adolescents becoming pregnant between the ages of 13-

19. These young females have not yet reached adulthood and the causes of teenage

pregnancy vary greatly. Family life is a routine interactions and activities that a family

have together, when members of a family enjoy each other’s company and spend a

lot of time doing things together, this is an example of good family life. A person with

a good quality of family life Less likely to exhibit behavioral problems, since kids with

parents who spend quality family time together typically have fewer problem

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behaviors. At best the family teaches the finest things human beings can learn from

one another generosity and love. But it is also, all too often, where we learn nasty

things like hate, rage and shame (Barbara Ehrenreich - The snarling Citizen, 1995).

Teenage pregnancy are rooted with family life and its negative effects will

affect the society as a whole if left without treatment nor awareness. "As a society,

we keep on paying and paying when our teens become mothers," said Parrot, who

has been working in the area of teen sexuality for 20 years and is the co-author of

the 1979 manual Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention: A Team Approach. Depression,

price inflation, low GDP often occur among economies, this has a great impact on

the standards of living of the people. The news is based on a report released by the

United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) on the same year. The report also indicated

that one out of 10 young Filipino women ages 15-19 years old is already a mother. A

staggering statistic that reflects the reality of the Philippine grassroots scenario, not

only in the populated metropolis but even more so in rural areas. Every now and

then new batches of young mothers below the age of 20 emerge, adding to the

already growing roster of what many considers as a deviant behavior among young

Filipino women, many of whom perceived to have rebelled from familial rules,

parental guidance, and social norms. The truth of the matter, however, is that

instead of being an exception teen pregnancy cases has become the norm, especially

in urban poor areas, adding to yet another social problem- poverty amongst others.

The politics of the family are the politics of a nation (Letty Cottin Pogrebin - Family

and politics, 1983).

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 According to Leaf Group (2020) a teenage pregnancy in the family can

create a shift in goals, not only for the pregnant teenager but for other family

members as well. Filipinos ate known as family oriented which means there's no one

should be left behind. The question is if how early pregnancy affects the

communication between family members, Hence teenage pregnancy affects the

goals and responsibilities not only of the child bearing teen but also to the parents.

These young females have not yet reached adulthood and the causes of teenage

pregnancy vary greatly. Family life is a routine interactions and activities that a family

have together, when members of a family enjoy each other’s company and spend a

lot of time doing things together, this is an example of good family life. A person with

a good quality of family life Less likely to exhibit behavioral problems, since kids with

parents who spend quality family time together typically have fewer problem

behaviors. At best the family teaches the finest things human beings can learn from

one another generosity and love. But it is also, all too often, where we learn nasty

things like hate, rage and shame (Barbara Ehrenreich - The snarling Citizen, 1995) a

lot of factors affecting in relating in early pregnancy it's affect the social relationship

between your parents and specially in the society, the opinion s of the people that

affect the emotional criticism and the shame by involving in early pregnancy

Another Dominant theme in Filipino families is the emphasis on the

fulfilment of familial duties and obligation by children, an expectation that reinforces

the families interdependence and supports the "utang NG loob" that's is

acknowledging and reciprocating parents care and sacrifices in the immediate or

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short term ,meeting Family responsibilities entails the performance of every task in

households and siblings care in the bigger picture ,this pertains to the fulfilment of

longer term expectations of contributing to the comic and social betterment of

parents and siblings (and even extended kin) usually through the child's educational

and occupational achievement.(Medina 2001-Chao and Tseng 2002) shame by

involving in early pregnancy .

The Urban Child Institute (2020) stated that adolescents who become

parents often have a shortage of key life skills and other resources that are vital to

the parenting process. This is sad reality is supported by the research showing that,

On average children who are born to teen parents are less likely to ever reach their

full potential and the effects of teenage pregnancy on parents, baby and community

can be devastating, A person with a good quality of family life Less likely to exhibit

behavioral problems, since kids with parents who spend quality family time together

typically have fewer problem behaviors. At best the family teaches the finest things

human beings can learn from one another generosity and love. But it is also, all too

often, where we learn nasty things like hate, rage and shame (Barbara Ehrenreich -

The snarling Citizen, 1995). t these are the factors affecting early pregnancy of young

women that affect family cohesion and possible lack of family attention so young

women are involved in such situations and possible solutions to these issues not only

reasons to improve and lead the proper care and love of their children in a family.

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 Background of the Study

Teenager getting pregnant is not shocking at it is any more than before, Due

to the previous high rate of teenage pregnancy cases in the past few years.

Teenage pregnancy, influencing the prevalence of teenage parenthood in

underclass neighborhoods is the outlook of the young people involved. It is strongly

affected by their perceived options in life. These perceptions are shaped by the

fortunes of immediate peers, family, and others with whom the youths identify. One

of the most important factors working against pregnancy is teenagers' belief that

they have something to lose by presently becoming a parent; many believe they

have something to gain.(Elijah Anderson; The urban underclass 375, 1991) In many

of these neighborhoods, it is the strong, financially stable, tightly knit" decent"(as

neighborhood residents say) family, often but not always nuclear, that works to

instill high aspirations in children and expectations of a good future that would be

undermined by youthful parenthood. With the connections and examples of such

families and their representatives in a neighborhood, a youth may hope to prevail in

life despite presumed obstacles—financial, cultural, or other. The presence of these

models can serve as a powerful inspiration to those who may be otherwise

disadvantaged, and it can work socially as a bastion against the street culture. This

street culture is characterized by support for and encouragement of an alternative

life style that appears highly attractive to many adolescents, regardless of family

background. Its activities are centered on the" fast life," and may include early sexual

activity and drug experimentation and other forms of delinquency. (Elijah Anderson;

The urban underclass 375, 1991).

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 Antecedent factors operative in the causation of adolescent pregnancy

include: The sexuality of contemporary society, especially the media. Prolongation of

educational any vocational preparation in industrialized western society. Normal

physical maturation at an early age. Peer and social pressure. Low expectations of

life among minority and economically poor individuals. The conspiracy of silence

surrounding sexuality and the inability of society to admit and deal realistically with

the sexual activity of adolescents. Failure to provide sex education, clarification of

values, family-life education, preparation for parenthood, and knowledge of birth-

control and family-planning services targeted to teenagers, including adolescent

males. Psychological and emotional problems. Failure to provide available and

accessible early pregnancy-detection services with adequate counseling and support

services. Failure to provide supportive services to adolescents who have a child in

order to prevent repeated pregnancy. Pregnancy, childbearing, and motherhood

represent ultimate feminine fulfillment to many in our society, and unless attainable

expectations and desirable alternatives are available, adolescents will continue to

see little reason to postpone pregnancy and childbearing. (Luella Klein; Clinical

obstetrics and gynecology 21 (4), 1151-1159, 1978)

Results from cumulative years of the National Demographic and Health

Survey and the latest result of the 2011 Family Health Survey, shows that teenage

pregnancy in the Philippines, measured as the proportion of women who have

begun childbearing in their teen years, has been steadily rising over a 35-year period.

These teenage mothers are predominantly poor, reside in rural areas and have low

educational attainment. However, this paper observes a trend of increasing

proportions of teenagers who are not poor, who have better education and are

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residents of urban areas, who have begun childbearing in their teens. Among the

factors that could help explain this trend are the younger age at menarche,

premarital sexual activity at a young age, the rise in cohabiting unions in this age

group and the possible decrease in the stigma of out-of-wedlock pregnancy.(Josefina

Natividad; Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies 28 (1), 30-37,

2013).

The significance of family support, friend support, and partner support,

assessed during the pregnancy, were examined in relation to infant and mother

outcomes assessed at or after the birth. Infant outcome was indexed by birth weight,

with gestational age controlled; mother outcome in terms of psychological

adaptation was indexed by depressive symptomatology among adolescent mothers.

The sexuality of contemporary society, especially the media. Prolongation of

educational any vocational preparation in industrialized western society. Normal

physical maturation at an early age. Peer and social pressure. Low expectations of

life among minority and economically poor individuals. The conspiracy of silence

surrounding sexuality and the inability of society to admit and deal realistically with

the sexual activity of adolescents. Failure to provide sex education, clarification of

values, family-life education, preparation for parenthood, and knowledge of birth-

control and family-planning services targeted to teenagers, including adolescent

males. Psychological and emotional problems. Failure to provide available and

accessible early pregnancy-detection services with adequate counseling and support

services. Failure to provide abortion services. Failure to provide supportive services

to adolescents who have a child in order to prevent repeated pregnancy. Pregnancy,

childbearing, and motherhood represent ultimate feminine fulfillment to many in

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our society, and unless attainable expectations and desirable alternatives are

available, adolescents will continue to see little reason to postpone pregnancy and

childbearing. Concern over the incidence of teenage pregnancy has led to efforts to

explain reasons for teens putting themselves at risk for getting pregnant. Most

explanations offered look at individual characteristics, focusing on self-esteem or

related variables. Other explanations focus on cultural factors such as the availability

of sex education or contraceptives. Family factors are recognized as contributing to

teenage pregnancy, but specific variables have not been clearly demonstrated to be

salient. This paper utilizes concepts from family systems theory to explain pregnancy

in late adolescence as a family dysfunction. In particular, concepts from Minuchin's

structural family therapy and the “leaving home” concept of Haley are related to the

problem. An illustrative case is presented and implications for service providers are

discussed. (Charles A Romig, J Graham Thompson; American Journal of Family

Therapy 16 (2), 133-143, 1988) .

A staggering statistic that reflects the reality of the Philippine grassroots

scenario, not only in the populated metropolis but even more so in rural areas. Every

now and then new batches of young mothers below the age of 20 emerge, adding to

the already growing roster of what many considers as a deviant behavior among

young Filipino women, many of whom perceived to have rebelled from familial rules,

parental guidance, and social norms. The truth of the matter, however, is that

instead of being an exception teen pregnancy cases has become the norm, especially

in urban poor areas, adding to yet another social problem- poverty amongst others.

The politics of the family are the politics of a nation (Letty Cottin Pogrebin - Family

and politics, 1983).

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 Teen pregnancy rates are growing, and we need to bring awareness to that

(Madisen Beaty, 1995). Early pregnancy may transpire due to the effects of Drugs

and alcohol. During adolescence, teenagers may drink and experiment with drugs

habitually with their friends at social gatherings and parties. Youth, however, do not

clearly understand the impacts of alcohol and drugs have on the functioning of their

brain, In particular, the effects of binge drinking which consumes large quantities of

alcohol during one sitting. Both excessive drinking and experimenting with drugs can

lead to unwanted and unintended pregnancies Such drugs greatly affect a teen's

ability to think logically and conduct general thinking processes, thereby raising their

risk of participating in risky and hazardous sexual activity. Teenage pregnancy may

also happen due to Low Socio-economic Status. “Many teenage pregnancies aren't

accidental but intentional because of girls who see no life goals other than being a

mother as realistically within their reach," says Andrea Parrot, Ph.D., a Cornell

University women's health and human sexuality expert.

Many young women get pregnant just so they can drop out of high school or push

their partners into a deeper commitment. Rebellion is another explanation why

some teenagers get pregnant too. A teen may decide to have a child in order to

demonstrate their independence and find themselves to have more control over

their lives.

Research also found a direct relationship between the amount of sexual content

children see and their level of sexual activity or their intentions to have sex in the

future (Pardun, L’Engle and Brown 2015).

Across-time analyses showed that, in families in which the teenager was initially

pregnant, mothers monitored and communicated less with their other children and

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were more accepting of teenage sex after the older daughter gave birth. In families

in which the teenager was initially parenting, mothers perceived more difficulty for

their teenage daughters and reported being less strict with their other children

across time. Role strain theory postulates that the psychological stress associated

with undertaking multiple roles impedes a person from performing well in any role

(Goode, 1960).

Expectations for their other children that result accordingly if parents believe that

they have little influence over the future of their children. Nevertheless, it's also

possible that there might be an opposite reaction among parents. Because the older

daughter had a child as a teenager, parents that place higher and more challenging

demands on their other kids. Parents often are initially disappointed when a teenage

daughter gives birth (Furstenberg, 1980).

Statement of the Problem

This study is set to find out the effects of teenage pregnancy in Family Life

restricted to randomly selected women of Muntinlupa City ages 13 to 17

years old. Specifically, this study aims to know the answer to the following

questions:

1.) What are the negative effects of Teenage Pregnancy in their social

life?

2.) What are the contributing factors to teenagers in relation to early

pregnancy?

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 3.) What are the life struggles encountered in teenage pregnancy?

4.) What are the grassroots of teenage pregnancy?

5.) Is there a relationship between teenage pregnancy and the quality of

their family life?

6.) How does teenage pregnancy and poor family life affect the society as

a whole?

Objectives of the study

 Study the effect of teenage pregnancy in family life in Muntinlupa City.

 To assess the awareness of the youth about the prevention of teenage
pregnancy through a sexuality education program.
 Determine the factors that affect the teenage pregnancy in family life.
 To identify the difficulties of bearing a baby in younger age.

Significant of the Study

Scope and Limitation

CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature

Foreign Studies

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Journal

National Demographic and Health Survey and the latest result of the
2011 Family Health Survey, shows that teenage pregnancy in the Philippines,
measured as the proportion of women who have begun childbearing in their
teen years, has been steadily rising over a 35-year period. These teenage
mothers are predominantly poor, reside in rural areas and have low
educational attainment. Neonatal and infant mortality tend to be higher at
both ends of the reproductive spectrum, i.e., the youngest (less than 20) and
the oldest (aged 45-49) age groups. The fact that their bodies are not yet
ready for the physical demands of childbearing, having closely spaced births
exposes young mothers to further health risks. In 2011 FILESYSTEM
HIERARCHY STANDARD (FHS), 37 percent of currently married 15-19 year
olds had an unmet need for contraception, mostly for spacing of births,
compared to 19 percent for all currently married women and the aged less
than 20 have the highest unmet need for contraception. (J.N.
N a ti v i d a d , S c . D . 2 0 1 3 ) .

Teenage Pregnancy had been a worldwide issue, and has raised large
numbers of campaigns and awareness to lessen its occurrence. The total
number of this phenomenon is increasing each year. Philippines is one of the
Asian countries which shares similar situation. In a study conducted by the
National Demographic and Health Survey in 2013, one out of every young
Filipino women age 15 to 19 is already a mother or pregnant with a first
child. Therefore, the government in partnership with the different non-
government agencies should exert efforts in resolving this issue. Teenage
Pregnancies are often associated with social development issues such as lack
of sufficient education and poverty. This often results to single parenthood
which catalyzes conditions that renders the mothers to become
irresponsible. Hence, it conveys a social stigma in various countries and
cultures. This study would like to focus on exploring the lived experiences of
Filipino teenage mothers in their pre and post-natal stage on how they
prepare and accept their new roles as mothers. (J.T. Salvador, B.R. Sauce,
M.C. Alvarez, A.B. Rosario, MAN, RN 2016).

In societies where girls in their early teens are given by their parents to be
married to older men, teen pregnancy is not considered a problem. However,

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often, these girls have too-early pregnancies that result in severe damage to
sexual and internal organs. The problem of teen pregnancy is also not as
troubling in Nordic countries or in the Netherlands where a strong healthcare
system guarantees confidentiality, a non-judgemental approach, and
support. Among developed nations, the highest teen pregnancy rates are in
the United Kingdom and the USA and the lowest in Japan and South Korea.
Rape in war-torn regions is often a deliberate act of armed aggressors that
results in teen pregnancy. In South Africa, 11–20% of teen pregnancies are
reported to occur as a direct result of rape. Schooling suffers, as about 50% of
US teen mothers get a high school diploma by age 22, compared with 90% of
girls who do not give birth. Media portrayals influence teen sexual behaviors.
Glamorous television and magazine shots of ‘famous’ pregnant teens
influence teens to engage in sexual activity and become pregnant
themselves. Some teens decide to get pregnant so they can drop out of
school. Girls who have lived in foster care have double the teen pregnancy
rate of peers outside the foster care system. Girls whose fathers are in the
home as they grow up are less likely to become teen parents. Ignorance of
effective contraceptives leads to teen pregnancy. Some teens get pregnant in
order to force a sexual partner into more commitment. Some are defiantly
rebelling against what they perceive as overly strict parental rules. Some are
engaged in sexual behaviors but lack knowledge about how to obtain
contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, while others are pressured by their
sexual partners not to use condoms. The biggest risk for teen mothers is
delaying prenatal care. In the USA, ‘7.2% received no care at all’ (Weiss,
2011).

According to Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data, the percentage

of women aged 20–24 in Zambia who gave birth before the age of 18
decreased only slightly from 35% in 2001–2002 to 31% in 2013–2014 (UNICEF
n.d.). As in low-income countries in general, adolescent birth rates in Zambia
are higher among those in rural areas, with lower levels of education and
poorer households, and lower among those in urban areas, with higher levels
of education and wealthier households (Doyle et al. 2012).

In Zambia, DHS data show that child marriage declined from 41.6% in 2007
to 31.4% to 2015 among women aged 20–24 who reported being married
before they were 18 years old (Population Council, UNFPA and Government
of the Republic of Zambia 2017). The number of girls marrying very early,
before the age of 15, has also declined (Chata and Wodon 2016).

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 Although marriage among girls before the age of 18 in Zambia today is
much less common than it was a decade or two ago, the level of adolescent
pregnancy has remained stable during the same period.

Several factors are associated with the high rates of pregnancy before the
age of 18 years. Some key findings are consistent across sub-Saharan Africa:
contraception use is not seen as important, and access to contraception for
young people is poor; condoms have a bad reputation and are not often
used; there is a low level of knowledge about the risks of pregnancy and
sexually transmitted infections (STIs); married girls are expected to become
pregnant within a year after marriage; and young women rely on, and are to
a large extent expected to engage in, transactional sex to cover basic material
needs (Mmari and Sabherwal 2013, Sommer and Mmari 2015,Stoebenau et
al. 2016).

Low knowledge levels and unmet need for contraception are related to
young people’s low utilisation of reproductive health services and poor
sexuality education both in and out of school (Chung, Kim and Lee 2018).

Adolescent pregnancy is defined as a pregnancy in girls 10–19 years of age.

It is estimated that about 16 million girls 15–19 years old give birth each year,
contributing nearly 11% of all births worldwide.

Approximately 16 million teenage girls become mothers every year, but

the highest concentration is in sub-Saharan Africa, where 20%–40% of
teenagers are mothers or currently pregnant. Pregnancy and childbirth are
the leading causes of death among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.
Adolescent motherhood requires support and community involvement,
regardless of the mother’s age and socioeconomic position. It is universally
known that neonatal mortality increases as the age of the mother decreases;
teenagers who give birth before the age of 15 years are five times more likely
to die during pregnancy or delivery as women in their 20s, partly as a result
of physical immaturity. Adolescent mothers have higher complication rates
during both pregnancy and delivery. Compared with adult mothers,
adolescent mothers are at increased risk of experiencing poor maternal and
infant outcomes, such as maternal and infant death or having a low birth
weight infant. (N. Y. K. Gyesaw and A. Ankomah, 2013).

News

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 The CCN Philippines stated that the Commission on Population and
Development (POPCOM) has raised the alarm about the growing number of
pregnancies among teenagers as young as ten years old, amid the
government calling teen pregnancy a “national social emergency.”

POPCOM Executive Director Juan Perez III said there is an average of 530
teenagers that get pregnant daily, and the figure has stayed above 500 since
2010. The number hit a high in 2017, when the agency recorded about 574
teen pregnancies per day. About 30 to 50 of these pregnancies are among
ten-year-olds, Perez said.

“We’ve also noted that the numbers among the ten years old are around 30,
40, 50 every year, so one a week, a ten year-old is giving birth in this
country,” Perez told CNN Philippines’ New Day.

Socioeconomic Secretary Ernesto Pernia said last week teen pregnancy

has become a “national social emergency” in the country with the numbers
continuing to soar.
Perez said 16 percent of these are “repeat pregnancies.” He attributed the
trend to the Supreme Court’s decision to remove a provision in the
Responsible Parenthood Reproductive Health Law, which allowed minors
who had miscarried to recieve family planning services without their parents’
consent.

Young mothers lose about ₱24 billion to ₱47 billion in earnings annually
due to an early pregnancy, according to the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA).

Having a child at an early age affects the teenager’s education and

income, Perez said.
“They may have dropped out of school. That affects their wage income, so
the wage income of teen parents is much lower than the average,” he said.
“The danger is looking for jobs so that’s a big loss for young women of
emerging families.”

POPCOM is currently coordinating with the Department of Education and

Department of Health, he added, on programs to reach out to the youth to
guide them on family planning and to ensure they receive the necessary
health services.

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 Senator Risa Hontiveros also filed a “Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Bill”
on August 24, which sought to create a sex education program for the youth
and to add more social protection programs for teen mothers.
"If we fail to act and do not guide the youth towards safe and healthy
lifestyles, we will not just condemn young Filipinas to lives of poverty and
suffering. We will also be hurting our country's chances for progress and
development,” Hontiveros said. (J. Peralta, CCN Phil. 2019).

The number showed that the reason for the high number of dropout rate
of girls is marriage and family matters, which can be treated also as teenage
pregnancy,” said Education Secretary Leonor Briones, citing data from the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA’s Annual Poverty Indicators Survey showed that school dropouts
have reached more than 2.97 million, 61.9 percent of whom are girls aged 16
to 24 who are forced into “marriage or family matters.
Briones disclosed this at a hearing before the House appropriations
committee where she defended the agency’s P518.85-billion budget for
2020.

By comparison, Briones said the survey statistics are much higher than
the 18.8 percent dropout rate of students who do not have interest at all and
the 18.6 percent who are financially challenged.

This is where the implementation of the Reproductive Health Law in the

public school curriculum should be given attention, she said.
“Even before I assumed office, I was given instructions by President Duterte
to adjust the curriculum to include RH and gender education for learners
starting at the age of 10, considering that the earliest recorded pregnancy in
the Philippines is 10 years old,” she said.

Laguna 3rd District Rep. Sol Aragones said the government can prevent
cases of teen pregnancy if Filipinos can act and talk responsibly about sex
education, stressing how underaged and unmarried youth continue to have
limited access to sex education and reproductive health services.

“Teenage pregnancy perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality, as it

does not only negatively impact the lives of young parents and their children,
but also disenfranchises them from economic opportunities as adolescent
pregnancy forces a majority of teenage parents to abandon their education,”
Aragones said.

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 According to the Population Commission (PopCom), 24 babies are born to
teenage mothers every hour and almost 200,000 Filipino teens get pregnant
annually, most of them from ages 15 to 19 and they added that Filipino teens
who were exposed to vice or the internet at an early age usually end up with
unplanned pregnancies.

The implementation of the comprehensive sexuality education in schools

and for out-of-school youth is the long-term solution to the enduring
problem. This is provided for in the Responsible Parenthood and
Reproductive Health (RPRH) law, approved in 2014 after 15 years pending in
Congress.

“There is a sense that the current programs are not able to turn the tide of
teen pregnancies and the long term solution will have some years to have an
impact,” he added.

But this is not yet up for implementation as DepEd is still preparing the
modules for integration of sexuality education in subjects and the materials
to be used by teachers.(
S.Crisostomo, the Philippine Star, 2019).

Teenage pregnancy causes P33 billion in economic losses, and curbing it

would lead to national development, says Commission on Population and
Development Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III. The Commission on
Population and Development (PopCom) called on President Rodrigo Duterte
on Wednesday, October 23, to issue an executive order declaring adolescent
pregnancy a national emergency, as incident rates remain alarming.
PopCom reported that about 1.2 million children had children over a 10-year
period.

Around 30,000 of these young mothers have experienced repeated

pregnancies, which PopCom Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III dubs
the even larger emergency. This issue affects the very essence of the
country’s development, because the state of young people today will affect
the state of our collective future.

Most of our laws are already there, but we fail at implementation. It is a

matter of political will and the studies show that early pregnancy is a rampant
cause of dropping out of school, and lessens chances of poor adolescent-led
families to escape poverty.

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 While Perez said some local government units (LGUs) extend some forms
of support for adolescent parents, there is currently no organized system of
social protection for teen mothers. He said there are around 150,000
adolescent-led families that lack the support they need, despite the passage
of the Reproductive Health (RH) Law in 2012.

PopCom said that while the highest levels of pre-marital sex are recorded
in the National Capital Region, teenagers in rural areas are getting pregnant
slightly earlier than those living in urban areas. (M. Abad, 2019).

To mark the International Day of the Girl today, Save the Children
Philippines called for the passage of the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention bill
and the full implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE)
in schools in response to the National Social Emergency declared by National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Teenage pregnancy affects 5.99 percent of Filipino girls which is the

second highest rate in Southeast Asia based on Save the Children’s Global
Childhood Report (2019). An estimated 538 babies are born to Filipino
teenage mothers every single day, according to Philippine Statistical
Authority (2017).

“Early pregnancy forces girls to take on an adult role while their bodies are
often not ready,” said Atty. Alberto Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the
Children Philippines.

Early pregnancy can also trap girls in an escapable cycle of poverty,

stigmatised by society for being teenage mothers or forced into early
marriage. It also creates a greater risk in terms of maternal complications
that affect the mother and the child they bear resulting in low survival rates.
The efforts to combat teenage pregnancy should come from all the sectors of
society. It requires a joint effort of government, private sectors, civil society
organizations, communities, parents, caregivers and the entire citizenry,
including youth themselves.

There is no single cause for the rising rate of teenage pregnancy, but
rather a combination of factors ranging from biological, social, and cultural.

These factors includes the following, but are not limited to (1) early
sexual debut; (2) lack of access to comprehensive sex information and

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 education; (3) Parents, who are identified by adolescents as one of their
preferred source of information on Sexual Reproductive Health information
have limited communication skills; (4) lack of access to family planning
services; (5) cultural practices of early union; and (6) lack of adolescent
sexuality and reproductive health (ASRH) policies and its full-implementation.

The bill will also ensure the access of pregnant teenagers to social
protection programs, and access of adolescents to reproductive health
services.

To curb the rise in teenage pregnancy cases, Save the Children Philippines
called for the enactment of the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention bill, which will
ensure the implementation of CSE in schools, training of teachers to deliver
CSE, and capacitating parents and carers to communicate sexuality education
to their children. (C. L. Tapang, 2019).

Local Literatures

CHAPTER III

Methodology

Research Instrument

Respondents of the study

Data Gathering Procedure

Statistical Treatment of Data

Survey Questionaire

1. IS THIS PREGNANCY THE RESULT OF A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER THAT WAS

UNWANTED?
2. DID DRUG OR ALCOHOL USE INFLUENCE YOU’RE GETTING PREGNANT?

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3. WERE YOU OR YOUR PARTNER USING ANY METHOD OF BIRTH CONTROL?
4. DID YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY GETTING BIRTH CONTROL?
5. WERE YOU LIVING WITH A PARENT/GUARDIAN WHEN YOU BECAME
PREGNANT?
6. DID YOU GET ANY PREGNANCY PREVENTION INFORMATION IN THE PAST
YEAR?
7. ARE YOU CURRENTLY IN SCHOOL?
8. HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED INFORMATION ABOUT THE DANGERS OF TEEN
PREGNANCY AND UNPROTECTED SEX?
9. IS EARLY PREGNANACY BROKE YOUR DREAMS?
10. SCHOOLS AND PARENTS ARE DOING ENOUGH TO EDUCATE TEENAGERS
ABOUT THE DANGERS OF TEEN PREGNANCY
11. WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY ACTIVE IN THE PAST DOES THE
THOUGHT OF POSSIBLY GETTING PREGNANT AT A YOUNG AGE INFLUENCE
YOUR DECISION TO HAVE SEX?
12. ARE YOU AWARE OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS
(PROTECTION) THAT ARE AVAILABLE?
13. WHEN YOU BECOME/ARE SEXUALLY ACTIVE, WILL YOU ALWAYS USE A
CONDOM OR SOME OTHER TYPE OF PROTECTION TO PREVENT PREGNANCY
14. DO YOU THINK RELYING ON THE MORNING AFTER PILL IS ENOUGH TO
PREVENT PREGNANCY
15. DO YOU THINK THE MAIN REASON WHY TEENS GET PREGNANT IS A LACK OF
EDUCATION?
16. IF USED CORRECTLY EVERY TIME, CONDOMS ARE GOOD AT PREVENTING
PREGNANCY
17. IF MY PARTNER DID NOT WANT TO USE A CONDOM, I WOULD BE ABLE TO
REFUSE SEX.
18. HAVE YOU HAD SEX DURING THE PAST THREE MONTHS?
19. . IF I GET PREGNANT OR GET MY PARTNER PREGNANT, IT WOULD MAKE MY
FUTURE PLANS HARDER TO REACH.
20. IT IS TOO EMBARRASSING TO BUY CONDOMS IN A STORE.
21. DO YOU THINK TEENAGE PREGNANCY IS RISKY?
22. DO PREGNANT TEENAGERS SUFFER STIGMA AND ISOLATION?
23. IS SEX PERMITTED BEFORE MARRIAGE IN YOUR CULTURE?
24. ARE YOU FAVOR OF SEX EDUCTAION?
WOULD YOU PROMOTE ABORTION TO PREVENT AN EARLY PREGNANCY

CHAPTER IV

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

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 CHAPTER V

SUMMARY

CONCLUSION

RECOMMENDATION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

REFERRENCES

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