Philippines predicts baby boom due to clinic closures

Thousands of unwanted pregnancies are forecast after lockdown restricts access to contraception

MORE than 214,000 extra babies could be born in the Philippines next year as a strict coronavirus lockdown has left hundreds of thousands of people unable to access family planning services.

It is thought that about 10 per cent of the unplanned pregnancies will be among teenagers aged 15-19, according to the country’s Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).

The spike in births – expected to be the highest in two decades – has been caused by restrictions on movement preventing access to clinics, and the lack of availability of contraceptives, in the wake of the pandemic. Nearly 3.6 million women aged between 15 and 49 have had an “unmet need for family planning” in the outbreak, Popcom said − nearly a fifth more than usual.

“We foresee that because of the restrictions of movement as well as the reduction of access of women and men to family planning supplies, there will be at least one pregnancy for every three women with an unmet need for family planning,” said Juan Antonio

Perez III, the executive director of Popcom. “Those are just some of the adverse impacts of the community quarantine to the welfare of our families, which further aggravates the situation of the ongoing health crisis.”

The Philippines has had one of the world’s longest and strictest lockdowns, with President Rodrigo Duterte threatening to “shoot down” any violators. It was the third country to impose restrictions in March, and some areas remain under quarantine now, including the capital, Manila. There have been 36,000 coronavirus cases and about 1,200 deaths.

However, the restrictions have had a grave impact on the country’s economy and other services, including its already underfunded health system.

Mr Perez urged all Filipinos to “do their very best” to avoid becoming part of the “staggering” statistics, stressing that helplines and clinics were open and home-delivery supplies of threemonth supplies of the contraceptive pill and condoms were available. Popcom expects almost 1.9million babies to be born in total in the Philippines next year – the highest rate since 2000.

“This should sound the alarm for everyone that as the pandemic rages on, family planning should still be topof-mind for everyone,” Mr Perez said.

The UN Population Fund has predicted that 47 million women across the world will lose access to contraception, leading to 7 million unplanned pregnancies in the coming months.