Economic uncertainty made Pinoys think less about having kids, commission says

The economic instability worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic has made more Filipino couples think less about having children, a study by the Commission on Population and Development showed.

This preference of couples to "delay or deprioritize" having kids due to their perceived lack of financial capacity, especially during the health crisis, may have contributed to the decline in the country's total fertility rate, the commission said.

"One positive result that came out from the pandemic was the more conscious consideration of couples’ and families’ socioeconomic capacities, as well as preparedness in their childbearing decisions,” said Lisa Grace Bersales, the commission's executive director.

In a study, Fertility Decline During COVID-19 Pandemic, key informant interviews and focus group discussions revealed that the decision of couples not to have children increased the acceptability of modern family planning methods.

Commissioned by the population body to the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute, the study also showed that "majority of the country's regions were already displaying a downturn in the total number of registered births in 2019."

It said the trend was observed as early as 2017 and 2018, when there was a decline in total registered live births from 1,700,618 to 1,668,120, then in 2019 at 1,673,923.

The study added that the drop was more pronounced in 2020 as only 1,528,684 babies were born.  Dipping further in 2021, there were only 1,364,739 new babies.  The figure rebounded in 2022 with 1,455,393 live births.

“Our recent study supports the assumption that Filipinos, even before the COVID-19 health situation, were already keen with their mindsets of delaying life-defining events such as dating, marriages, and having children. These preferences were reinforced by the shocks in broader socioeconomic conditions, and the rise in the level of uncertainties in various aspects of the pandemic,” Bersales said.

“We are now monitoring whether these fertility behaviors have become the norm post-pandemic,” she added.

Bersales said the pandemic has also become a "key catalyst" for the couple's use of contraceptives, from 40% in 2017 to 42% in 2022.

"Female-centric methods" such as pills, ligation or female sterilization, and injectables are still the most preferred methods, the study said.

It added that women "still carry out decisions with regard to family planning as compared to men."

The study observed that, "In the short-term, the increasing capacity of couples and women to attain their fertility intentions will bring a measure of economic relief, lower competition for employment, possible poverty reduction, and the realization of the demographic dividend which the country is set to reap."

"For the long view, we can expect a larger aging population, a decrease in income tax collection, and possibly a need to fill an impending workforce gap."

Bersales pointed out the need to include family planning program "as a key response to emergency or crisis situations, with a more targeted approach that will address varying concerns of different population groups."

"While the country's total fertility trend currently favors our socioeconomic indicators, the challenge is to sustain the accompanying benefits," she added. —LDF, GMA Integrated News