CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) – Cases of teenage pregnancy in Central Luzon declined to 17.19 percent in 2021 but remained the second highest in the country.
The latest figure, revealed by the results of the 2021 Civil Registry and Vital Statistics (CRVS), showed that cases of live births among adolescent mothers lowered to 15,504 in 2021 from 18,722 in 2020.
Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) Regional Director Lourdes Nacionales underscored that there is nothing to be complacent about as numbers are still alarming, especially with the rising incidence of pregnancies among younger girls aged 14 and below.
“While majority of teenage pregnancy in the region is still highest among adolescents 15 to 19, there were also 306 live births or 1.97% coming from very young adolescents aged 10 to 14,” she added.
This is a 13.33% increase of very young adolescents being pregnant.
Bulacan ranked first among Central Luzon provinces in terms of teenage pregnancy cases after it recorded a total of 4,290.
It was followed by Pampanga with 4,059, including the highly-urbanized city of Angeles with 522.
Nueva Ecija recorded 2,194 cases, followed by Tarlac with 1,555, and Bataan with 1,203.
Meanwhile, Zambales tallied 1,102 cases including the highly-urbanized city of Olongapo with 201.
The province of Aurora had a 381 caseload.
Meanwhile, Nacionales highlighted that crucial factors attributed to the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the region include the interplay of information and communication technology, poverty, and lack of access to reproductive health information and services.
“Women who received minimal education are the ones who are likely to get pregnant at an early age, and young girls getting pregnant is higher in rural areas,” she said.
Data released by Philippine Statistics Authority showed that one in 10 young women in the poorest quintile has been pregnant.
Nacionales emphasized that teenage pregnancy is both a health and development concern as it affects the health and total development of the individual with implications on the family, community, and socioeconomic development.
“She added that babies born to very young mothers are at a higher risk of diseases and death,” she pressed.
Teenage mothers who have given birth are more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes and are restrained from pursuing educational and employment opportunities.
With this, POPCOM pledged to intensify its initiatives on adolescent health and development within the local government units.
“We are advocating for zero teenage pregnancy and that one teenage pregnancy is too many considering the effects and impacts it brings to the life of these young mothers,” Nacionales stated.
The agency is also continuously collaborating with various agencies to create policies that will help build multi-sectoral strategies to curb the prevalence of teenage pregnancy which is already considered a national priority. (CLJC/JLDC-PIA 3)
