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- This is a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and extended community quarantines in the country.
- Around 1.9 million births are expected to happen in 2021.
Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) says that an estimated two million Filipino women, ages 15 to 49 years-old, are expected to get pregnant this year as a result of the extended lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of them expected to give birth nine months after the imposed community quarantine started.
POPCOM cited a study from the University of the Philippines Population Institute and the United Nations Population Fund which stated a similar prediction, adding that 10 percent of the said pregnancies will be of women ages 20 and below.
They also said that around 214,000 of the pregnancies are unplanned which will increase the number of births in the country to around 1.9 million in 2021.
“Looking at these numbers, 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 POPCOM executive director Juan Antonio Perez III.
Meanwhile, the percentage of women who use any method of modern contraceptives is expected to decline by 2.2 percent. This means that over 400,000 women drop out of the country’s family planning program.
“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.”
Perez said that POPCOM has an active helpline that can be contacted anytime by anyone regarding Usap Tayo sa Family Planning Facebook page.
“While the numbers are staggering, this should sound the alarm for everyone that as the pandemic rages on, family planning should still be top-of-mind for everyone.”
