Population body notes ‘alarming trend’ in teen pregnancies
The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) is closely monitoring what it described as an “alarming trend” among Filipino girls, particularly the 6.6 percent increase in the number of live births involving very young adolescent mothers under 15—from 2,411 in 2019 to 3,343 in 2023.
Citing figures recently released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the CPD, in a statement on Wednesday, said repeat pregnancies also remained a “major issue.”
In 2023, 38 young girls under 15 had repeat pregnancies. Data also show that 17 women have had five and more live births before they turned 20 years old.
Adolescent pregnancies are more common in larger population areas, such as Metro Manila, and the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions.
Alarming state
Undersecretary Lisa Grace Bersales, CPD executive director, said the country should “take a stronger and broader approach, including [having an] intensified age-sensitive and culturally sensitive comprehensive sexuality education (CSE),” which is one of the strategies under the Philippine Population and Development Plan of Action 2023-2028 that President Marcos approved in November 2023.
“Our emphasis is on protection from abuse and developing the life skills of adolescents to make informed decisions,” Bersales added.
The CPD chief said the live births among minors aged 10 to 14 were “at an alarming state that needs a more responsive policy.”
Given the significant increase in live births among adolescent girls aged 10 to 14 and the lifelong and serious implications on their well-being and the country, the CPD also joined other government agencies and nongovernment organizations calling on the Senate to pass Senate Bill No. 1979 or the adolescent pregnancy prevention bill, which is currently being deliberated.
Urgent action
“We call for urgent action on this issue given that it affects the health and well-being of this segment of the population, who will be the future workforce of the country. This will significantly impact the gains from the demographic dividend, a condition where the country gains traction for economic growth since the population is mostly made up of working ages 15 to 64,” Bersales said.
PSA officials earlier warned that the increasing cases of unplanned teenage pregnancies and births could result in the decrease of support that the country’s growing elderly population may expect from their children.
