Teenage Pregnancy in the Philippines :

Facts and figures, trends and issues

Josefina N. Natividad
Up Population Institute

National Summit on Teen Pregnancy organized by the National Youth

Commission, Heritage Hotel, 14 September 2012
Compared to its neighbors in ASEAN, the
Philippines ranks third highest in teenage
pregnancy , next to Lao PDR and Timor
Leste ( based on 2000-2005 UN comparative
data)
 Births per 000 women age 15-19
ASEAN countries (2000-2005)
Cambodia Indonesia Lao PDR Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam

88.4

64.3

49.3 51.6
47.3
44.6

18.9 21.1
14.5
5.6

Cambodia Indonesia Lao PDR Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam

Source : UN Data . A World of Information

http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=GenderStat&f=inID%3A13
But, from the same data source

Only the Philippines has an increasing

teenage pregnancy rate in the ASEAN
countries, from 1995-2000 to 2000-2005

In the rest of ASEAN, the rate is decreasing.

 Births/000 women , ASEAN
1995-2000 2000-2005

Vietnam 24.9
21.1
Timor Leste 114.3
64.3
49
Thailand 44.6
Singapore 7.4
5.6
46.9
Philippines 51.6
Myanmar 24
18.9
16.1
Malaysia 14.5
90.5
Lao PDR 88.4
Indonesia 52.3
47.3
Cambodia 57.7
49.3

Source : UN Data . A World of Information

http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=GenderStat&f=inID%3A13
Source 2008 NDHS
The risk of early childbearing is not
equally distributed among all women in
this age group.

There are significant differences by

education of the woman…
And by socioeconomic status of
the woman…..
This differential by education and
socioeconomic status is also
reflected in the teenage pregnancy
rate (or the age specific fertility rate
15-19)
Adolescent fertility rate by educational attainment

Source 2003 NDHS

Adolescent Fertility Rate by wealth quintile
Over the past 40 years, teenage pregnancy
rates have actually remained quite stable, at a
high level, even as the total fertility rate has
been declining.

So teenage pregnancy appears to have been as

prevalent then as now.
 Trends in Fertility rate among 15-19 and Total Fertility Rate

Source : National Demographic and Health Surveys 1973,1978,1983,1993,1998,2003,2008

The high teenage pregnancy rates then
could have been attributed to:

• Early marriage

• Early school leaving

Most of these pregnancies were accepted

as most happened within marriage or were
legitimized by marriage
The situation surrounding high teenage
pregnancy now is different from then.

There is potential for teenage pregnancy

figures to soar even higher now, if nothing
is done.

What accounts for current high teenage

pregnancy rates?
Predisposing factors for teen pregnancy:

• Early onset of menarche

• Changes in family lifestyles

less parental supervision,
more opportunities for teenagers to be on their
own

• Changes in norms and values

less stigma for pregnancy outside of marriage
no compulsion to marry when one is pregnant
more acceptance of children born out of wedlock
• Early onset of sexual activity

• Peer pressure for early sexual engagement

• Acceptability of sexual intimacy in teenage

relationships

• Inadequate life skills in the face of this

changing environment

Life skills are “the abilities for adaptive and

positive behavior that enable individuals to deal
effectively with the demands and challenges of
everyday life".
Core life skill strategies and techniques
(UNESCO, UNICEF)
1. problem solving
2. critical thinking
3. creative thinking
4. decision-making
5. empathy
6. coping with stress and emotions
7. effective communication skills
8. interpersonal relationship skills
9. self awareness building skills
What to do…..