Wilheim Cay A.

Go January 3 2018

12-B (HUMSS) Mr. Ramirez

Teenage Pregnancy Problem in the Philippines

Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in females under the age of 20. A
female can become pregnant from sexual intercourse after she has begun to ovulate. Pregnant teenagers face
many of the same pregnancy related issues as other women. There are concerns for those under 15 of age
because they are less likely to be physically developed enough to sustain a healthy pregnancy or to give
birth. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), "Pregnancies among girls less than 18
years of age have irreparable consequences. It violates the rights of girls, with life-threatening consequences
in terms of sexual and reproductive health, and poses high development costs for communities, particularly
in perpetuating the cycle of poverty."

In the Philippines, teenage pregnancy becomes rampant especially to those who live under poverty. The
Philippines also topped the regional list of Asian countries that continued to have the greatest number of
teenage pregnancies. According to Philippine Commission on Women or PCW, about 600 live births a day
are registered under teenage mothers. One out of ten adolescent girls gets pregnant. As of 2014, the
Philippine Statistical Authority revealed that one baby is delivered by teenage mothers every hour.
According to the WHO, about 16 million girls between the ages of 15-19, and around 1 million girls under
15 years old give birth each year. This alarming rise in teenage pregnancy in our country may be attributed
to economic and educational factors. Others also claim that societal factors and the media may also play a
role in the rise of teenage pregnancies.

The Philippines is struggling to manage its soaring teen pregnancy rates. Many of these pregnancies
within the country end in abortion. According to the Philippines Safe Abortion Advocacy Network
(PINSAN), some 600,000 induced abortions are recorded in the Philippines each year. There are no specific
laws that address the growing problem of teenage pregnancy in our country; not only in our country but
worldwide. This cannot be prevented since it is the decision of the couple. One cannot simply tell a couple
to not do the deed or have sex since they themselves are capable of voicing opinions out. The issue of
teenage pregnancy has several consequences. First, it is continually increasing the population growth rate in
the country.
Second, it encourages dropping out from schools. Many pregnant female children end up dropping out from
school to avoid shame which is undermining the government's efforts towards ensuring education to all.
Third, because of poverty, many of those involved in teenage pregnancy die off prematurely because of lack
of proper medical attention.

The government needs to address this matter further and thorough. According to the study done by the
Population Institute of the University of the Philippines, more than 46 percent of teenage pregnant woman
resort to induced abortion which is against the law and the Church; 2 of every 5 teenage pregnancies are
unwanted ones. If the government won’t start acting on this, this problem will be worse as years goes by.

One of the major reasons why teens become aware of premarital sex is because of the internet, television,
movies and magazines. Even though the government has strict rules on what can be broadcast, it still cannot
monitor everthing. The same goes for parents. The responsibility really lies in the hands of teenagers. We
need to think more critical in dealing this issue. The government should include sex education in our
education system. But cultural and religious belief hinders the encouragement to promote sex education to
our young folks. Our attitudes towards sex education and family planning are greatly affected by and the
belief instilled by Catholic Church. The topic like RH Bill aggravates the Catholic Church because it is
considered inhumane and clearly against the principles of the Catholic Church. But we need to set aside
these impediments to truly change the issues within our country. We will never transform into a better nation
if we always let our cultural and religious aspect to comprise our approaches to change the situation of our
country. I think to address the issue of teenage pregnancy the government should make it compulsory for
school students to undergo at least a certain number of hours of sex education. And instead of focusing on
the dangers and consequences of teenage pregnancy, schools can also educate teenagers on the advantages
of not having a baby when they are unprepared so that students may be able to weigh out the pros and the
cons. This can be enforced by getting students to attend service learning trips and having them be exposed to
the real world of teenage pregnancy. Lastly, the teenagers can be educated about sex through their parents
but in order for this to work, there must be a strong relationship between the child and the parent. Also with
a strong relationship, parents can have more influence in their child’s decisions and may be able to direct
their decisions in the right way. So in other words, having a good parent-child relationship can help to
decrease the affected population.