Teen pregnancies may increase by 21% amid pandemic, warns POPCOM

The number of teenage pregnancies may increase by over 20% during quarantine amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a Commission on Population and Development official said Thursday.

Citing a study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute and the United Nations Population Fund, executive director Juan Perez said pregnancies among teenagers aged between 15 to 19 may increase by 21% amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ngayong may COVID, pinag-aralan… na maapektuhan ang bilang ng mga kabataan na nabubuntis. Sa 15 to 19 years old, kung 10 buwan ang quarantine, 9.5 to almost 19, ay may dagdag na 21% na mabubuntis na kabataan,” Perez said during a forum on the Linggo ng Kabataan.

Perez noted that recorded live births among the said age group had decreased to 178,000 in 2019 from 201,000 live births recorded in 2016. However, he added, the lower number still meant almost 500 teens giving birth a day on average.

He also stressed that teenagers who had already given birth and are living with their partners are especially vulnerable to repeat pregnancies. 

“Kasi lalong hindi sila makaka-access ng serbisyong pang family planning, lalong makakasunod ‘yung kanilang pagbubuntis. Kaya dito, lalong inaalala namin, ng UP Population Institute, ang repeat pregnancy,” he said.

[They have less access to family planning services, so the likelihood of repeat pregnancy rises. That's why we also worry about repeat pregnancies.]

According to the executive director, around 166,000 families in the country are led by teenage mothers below 18 years old.

Perez said teenage women who were unable to finish high school due to pregnancy lose lifetime wage earnings of around P33 billion.

“Ang epekto ng pagbubuntis para sa mga kabataang hindi nakakatapos ng high school… pag gusto na nilang mag hanap ng trabaho, ang kanilang hinaharap ay mas mababa ang kita by almost 6%,” he said.

[The effect of pregnancy on young people who do not finish high school is that when they want to look for a job, they face a decrease in income by almost 6%.]

Under Executive Order 141, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the prevention of teenage pregnancies a national priority.

Perez said that to achieve this, the government must provide comprehensive sexuality education, access to RH information and services, access to anti-VAWC services, socioeconomic development interventions, and youth participation and development. — BM, GMA News