DOH: ‘Very high’ child pregnancy cases ‘alarming’

THE Department of Health said that the increasing or “very high” number of child pregnancies in recent years is alarming.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said these ‘children’ fall under the age of 15.

He said that there is a “very high incidence” of childhood pregnancy in the country. 

Herbosa said that they based their data from the 2022 Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report for children under 15 years old, 59 got pregnant for every 100,000 population.

The PSA data said that at the height of the pandemic in 2020, those aged below 15 showed 39.39 per 100,000 people who got pregnant. 

The said number grew 44.06 in 2021, and 59.34 in 2022.

“We have a big problem with teenage pregnancy. Number one, ‘yan ang nagko-contribute sa maternal mortality kasi hindi sila nagpapa-prenatal. Sila ang high-risk sa what we call eclampsia and hemorrhage at childbirth,” Herbosa said. 

“So kung ma-control natin ‘yan [if we control that], we will actually be able to decrease maternal mortality,” he added. 

He added that every childhood pregnancy is considered an unplanned pregnancy, in particularly for children aged 10 to 16. 

Herbosa also said that the rising childhood pregnancy rate is due to the internet, among others.

“Number one, our children are already exposed to the internet. What we discovered is that internet was a big influence on sexual behavior of our teens. And then there’s peer pressure, of course.” Herbosa said. 

“Then the socioeconomic classes. Many in the lower socioeconomic classes, ang gusto ng iba makapag-asawa, makatakas sa poverty ang kanilang family. ‘Yan, social factors, cultural factors… Education talaga,” he continued.