The alarming rise of teenage pregnancy

JOAN was only 10 when she came to Davao City. That was the time when her parents got separated. Her father left the family for another woman.

Joan is the youngest of four siblings so she was brought to the city to live with her grandmother. Her mother decided to work abroad to support the children.

Without her parents, life was not rosy at all for Joan. When there were problems, she has no one to talk to – except some friends who are also at her age. She won’t dare to consult her grandmother, whom she considered as “very strict.”

Then, something happened that really changed her life completely.

She was already 16 when she attended the JS Promenade together with her boyfriend, who’s a year older. It was not the party the students were longing for. There was dancing but drinking of liquor was prohibited.

Wanting to have more fun, some of the students, including Joan, decided to sneak out from the party. The group went to a nearby bar and imbibed some beers and wines. They were laughing out loud until some of them became drunk. Joan also drank too many. Before she knew it, she passed out.

The following day, she woke up naked in bed with her boyfriend. Something happened between the two of them that night; she lost her virginity.

Joan went home and told no one about what happened. A month later, she broke up with her boyfriend when she discovered that he was also dating another girl. She was more devastated when she found out that she was pregnant.

It may be preposterous that a teenager like Joan is already pregnant at 16 but such is the reality these days. It is happening not only in Davao City but in other parts of the country as well.

In 1998, the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) showed that some 3.6 million of female teenagers got pregnant. In 92 percent of these teens, the pregnancy was unplanned and the majority (78 percent) did not even use contraceptives the first time they had sex.

“Many of the youth are clueless that even on a single intercourse, they could end up getting pregnant,” wrote Dr. Rebecca S. Singson in an article that appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation confirmed the NDHS study.

The study showed that 26 percent of Filipino youths around the country from ages 15 to 25 admitted to having a premarital sex experience.

What was worse is that 38 percent of these youths were already in a live-in arrangement.

Studies conducted by the World Bank from 2000 to 2003 ranked the Philippines as one of the top 10 countries with an increasing number of teenage mothers. Seven out of 10 Filipina mothers are adolescents, most of them below 19 years old.

Dr. Mildred R. Yutuc is an obstetrician-gynecologist from Caloocan City. In her 21 years of practice, she seldom encounters sexually active teenage patients until in the past three years.

“I have observed that the number of single mothers who ask for help regarding sex-related problems gets younger,” she says.

Women’s groups are alarmed by the steady increase in teen pregnancies in recent years.

“We need to stress that delaying the age of pregnancies are important for them,” Dr. Junice Melgar, Likhaan’s executive director, told Channel News Asia, “not just physically to save their lives because of the risks of early pregnancy, but also economically, because we know that young people who are able to have opportunities are the people who are able to delay sexual engagements, especially having pregnancies.”

According to Dr. Yutuc, teen mothers – like any other teens – are still growing in matters of physical, emotional and social developments.

“Should they fail to get their parents’ support, these teen mothers would have inadequate prenatal care and become undernourished,” the lady physician warns.

In a study conducted by the American Medical Association, it was found out that babies born to women who do not have regular prenatal care are four times more likely to die before the age of one year.

“Teen mothers are also at higher risk of serious medical complications,” Dr. Yutuc says.

These medical complications include pregnancy-induced hypertension/pre-eclampsia, significant anemia, placenta previa, premature birth/prolonged labor, low-birth weight infant with underdeveloped organs, and post-partum depression.

“Death rate from pregnancy complications is higher for 15 years old and younger,” writes Dr. Yutuc in an article, which appeared in Health and Home.

Despite the risks, many teens prefer abortion.

In the United States, nearly four in 10 teen pregnancies (excluding those ending in miscarriages) are terminated by abortion. There were about 274,000 abortions among teens in 1996.

Although abortion is illegal in the Philippines, the rate is higher (25 per 1,000 women) compared to the United States where abortion is legal (23 per 1,000 women).

“For sure, there are more abortions that happen in our country that are not even reported,” Dr. Singson writes.

What is even more alarming is the extent of what these pregnant teens do just to terminate their pregnancy.

“When abortifacients fail,” Dr. Yutuc informs, “some seek out abortionists who insert objects into their uterus to kill the baby, which is very dangerous since it could introduce infection and cause profuse bleeding to the would-be mother.”

But that’s not all.

“The infection may spread to the pelvic organs, at times requiring the removal of the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes, making the mother unable to bear children anymore,” Dr. Singson writes. “Worse, abortion could result in maternal death. Should abortion fail, the pregnancy outcome could be an infant with abnormalities.”

“But how did abortion come into the picture?” one teenager asked. “How did abortion even become an option? Fear. Fear of being unaccepted, fear of the unknown, and lots and lots of fear. Will no one stand up and lend an ear to just listen to what these teens are experiencing? Just how many more girls are getting rid of their babies? How many girls die by trying to kill their unborn child? How many babies will have to lose their life because no one listens?”

Pregnancy is not the only consequence of sexual intimacy among teenagers. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are most likely to infect them. Most teenagers are not faithful to their partners. Should one relationship fails, there is always another one. Some girls even claim that they engage in casual sex with acquaintances.

“STIs affect the lower genital tract,” Dr. Yutuc writes. “Because there is a direct connection from the vagina to the pelvic organs, infections can easily spread to the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and adjacent peritoneum. In 20 percent of PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) cases, damage to these organs result in infertility.”

There is also a great risk of catching the dreaded human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the microorganism that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids).

During the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund presentation of the State of the World’s Children, Dr. Eric Tayag reported that in 2010, one out of three HIV patients is from the 15-24-year-old bracket.

Roman Catholic Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista of the Diocese of Boac in Marinduque blamed the mass media and the Internet – and their emphasis on sex – for the increased teen pregnancy in the country.

“People from across the county are so exposed to television shows containing disturbing messages and images. And it really has a negative effect on our youth,” he wrote in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website.

Bishop Evangelista says in the Internet, where regulation is almost nil, teens can easily find sex-related materials.

Other reasons why teenagers these days engaged in sex early in life are due to family problems, broken family, peer pressure, influential trends (regarding sex), lack of attention and love from parents, lack of moral values, failure to nurture with good principles, curiosity, lack of information about sex, use of illegal drugs, lack of guidance, prostitution and unintelligent decisions.

Meanwhile, Joan is in a complete dilemma. Who should she ask for help? Her mother is working abroad. Her father is living with another family. Her boyfriend is now engaged to another girl. Her grandmother would be mad at her should she found out she’s pregnant. Her friends don’t know what to do as well.

“I am in a total quandary,” she said. “Should I have this pregnancy terminated?” –Henrylito D. Tacio, Sun Star