With a 70-percent rise noted in a span of 10 years from 1999 to 2009, the Philippines has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) official said.
THE Philippines has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies among youths aged 15 to 19 compared to the other neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific that have a better record of 34 births per 1,000 women.
Studies conducted by various health and population organizations show that there is an increasing number of young ladies ending as moms as early as ages 15 to 19. According to the National Demographic and Health survey for 2008, 10 percent of the country’s girls aged 15 to 19 become pregnant with their first child.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFP), in its 20011 report, also revealed that out of 1000 women, there were 53 births recorded from women of the said ages. The same organization also reported that government statistics on female adolescent pregnancies indicate that the total number of annual births changed little over the preceding 10 years, but the number of teenage pregnancies increased by 70 percent in just one decade at a count of 114,205 in 1999 to 195,662 in 2009.
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When kids are in a hurry to grow up
By ANGELO G. GARCIA
June 25, 2012, 2:21pm
A recent study shows that in 2011, there are 53 births in every 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years old.
Seven-teen-year-old Karen (not her real name) was devastated to find out she is three months pregnant. Her dream of becoming nurse was put on hold because of the unexpected situation, her world started to crumble in on her.
“Masakit talaga. Hindi ko alam kung ano gagawin ko. Ang dami ko pang pangarap,” she laments.
She and her boyfriend admit that they never used any sort of protection or contraceptives. Both of them thought that the withdrawal method was enough to prevent pregnancy. They did not know that there is a higher risk of getting pregnant if the method is used incorrectly.
Even more devastated were her parents: her father, an overseas Filipino worker and her mother, a plain housewife.
Karen is just one of the thousands of Filipino teenagers getting pregnant every year — unprepared.
“This is very alarming. Considering that we are highly educated,one way or the other.The alarming rise in teenage pregnancy raised many questions. Who is to blame? Have Filipino values changed? Is there enough education about sexuality among today’s youth?”
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