James Bryan P.

Parañaque

SPEECH (to inform/educate)

“The expansion of unwanted pregnancy”

As the pandemic arise the teenage pregnancy also arises, more and more are giving birth in just
an early age without knowing how big the responsibilities are to be a parent. According to the National
Research Council of the Philippines on the Department of Science and Technology, in 2019 or before the
pandemic, some 2,411 girls aged 10 to 14 gave birth. The surge of pregnant teenagers in the country has
been long observed in the past 11 years.

According to a two-month study of the DOST-NRCP led by Dr. Gloria Luz Nelson, a sociologist by
training with concentration on Population Studies, the pandemic is not the cause of teenage pregnancy,
but several mediating factors such as, school closures, dysfunctional family, and lack of access to sexual
and reproductive health education. The two-month study retells the stories of 18 teenagers and extracts
from their stories the meanings they attached to their experiences as being young, pregnant, and
mother during the pandemic. The stories are the data gathered through screen-mediated in-depth
interviews (Facebook, Messenger).

We should open our minds to prevent and control this kind of problems in order for the youth
to focus on their dream rather than starting a family in such a young age. There are many ways to
prevent this, and the best way is to practice safe sex. Safe sex reduces the chance of unwanted
pregnancy and even the transmission of STDs. We practice safe sex with the use of "condoms". If used
correctly, condoms can dramatically reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy and also STDs by acting as a
physical barrier to prevent the exchange of semen and vaginal fluids between partners. Safe sex is also
called "safer sex", to highlight the fact that condoms and other barrier methods are not 100% effective
in preventing unwanted pregnancy and transmission of STDs.

However, condoms do offer the best available protection when used correctly. to my fellow
youth out there we must be aware and careful to the consequences of what we're doing, it's better to
plan our future rather than to destroy it.