By Gabriela Baron
A 13-year-old girl from Bontoc, Mountain Province was registered as the youngest mother in the area, according to its local government unit (LGU).
“According to the Municipal Registrar Valentina Domaoa, the number of teenage mothers in 2022 has increased by 39.28% compared to the previous year,” Bontoc LGU wrote on its Facebook page.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Municipal Civil Registry Office (MCRO), the MCRO registered a total of 767 live births.
Of the number, 39 were teenage mothers.
Meanwhile, out of the 39 registered teenage mothers in 2022, 17 are natives of Bontoc and the remaining 22 are from the neighboring municipalities and/or provinces who gave birth and registered in the municipality.
“Further, the PSA reported that about one in every ten teenage mothers in the entire Mountain Province was registered in this capital town,” the LGU added.
Bontoc Mayor Jerome Tudlong Jr. appealed to the public to help lessen the number of teenage pregnancies, noting that it could cause adverse effects on the health of both the mother and her baby.
According to the World Health Organization, teenage mothers (aged 10 to 19 years old) face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis, and systemic infections than women aged 20 to 24 years old.
Babies of teenage mothers also face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and severe neonatal condition.
