Pregnancies at ages 10-14 ‘still high’

Despite the significant slide in teen pregnancy and childbearing figures across the Philippines, Tacardon said pregnancies among 10 to 14-year-olds were still high in 2022 at more than 2,000

The Commission on Population and Development or PopCom on Monday cited the government-imposed lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the reasons why fewer Filipinas, aged 15 to 19, became pregnant last year.

PopCom came up with its analysis after the National Demographic and Health Survey revealed that the proportion of women 15 to 19 years old who got pregnant declined from 8.5 percent in 2017 to 5.4 percent in 2022.

The University of the Philippines Population Institute also released the latest results of its Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study, which showed that the proportion of young women 15 to 19 years old who became pregnant declined from around 13 percent to 6.7 percent.

During the Laging Handa press briefing, PopCom Deputy Executive Director Lolito Tacardon said the Covid-19 pandemic presented extraordinary circumstances when young people were forced to spend months indoors.

However, despite the significant slide in teen pregnancy and childbearing figures across the Philippines, Tacardon said that the number of pregnancies among 10 to 14-year-olds was still high in 2022 at more than 2,000.

“Sadly, the number of pregnancies among 10 to 14-year-olds remained high,” Tacardon said. “From the statistics from the PSA, there are over 2,000 pregnancies among 10 to 14-year-olds.”

He did not hazard a guess though as to what may have caused pregnancies in the 10-14 age group to remain high, considering that they would have also stayed at home during the pandemic like their 15-19 counterparts.

For data on those in the 15-19 age group, Tacardon said the lockdowns limited their interactions with peers and partners.

“So, that’s something that we have to look into and monitor still in the coming years if indeed this pandemic caused the decline,” Tacardon said in English and Filipino.

“But I think, another dimension that we want to see is the more responsible decisions that the youth is making nowadays, in particular in their sexually related activities,” Tacardon added.

Tacardon called on the youth to participate in community activities, especially in activities organized by the Sangguniang Kabataan so that they can better channel their energy to more productive and positive activities.

He urged institutions and stakeholders to boost collective efforts under Executive Order 141-2021 in addressing the root causes of adolescent pregnancies through a whole-of-nation approach.