By Dianne Garcia
A study, conducted by University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), found a 50% decrease in childbearing among Filipino teens.
The 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study released by UPPI showed that over 386,000 Filipino girls aged 15 to 19, or 6.8%, have started having children, a 50% decline from the record of 13.7% rate in 2013.
“Between 1994 and 2002, the percentage of young women who have ever been pregnant hardly changed from 7.1% in 1994 to 6.9% in 2002,” UPPI noted.
“However, this percentage rose dramatically from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, more than doubling from 6.9% in 2002 to 14.4% in 2013, but has gone down to 7.2% in 2021,” it added.
The study also found that Davao Region and the Bangsamoro Region posted teenage pregnancy rates of at least 10%, while Eastern Visayas had the highest percentage of female teenagers. – gb
