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Mother and son have some private time at the delivery room

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Arra Perez

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — There is a &quot;significant decrease&quot; in the number of teenage pregnancies in public schools, especially when students gradually returned to in-person classes, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday.Teenage pregnancies in public schools dipped by nearly half over the years, due to many factors, including the integration of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the curriculum, DepEd Assistant Secretary Dexter Galban estimated.&quot;Based on our latest data, if I remember correctly, from 2021 to 2022, that was about 30,000 teenage pregnancy cases. The year preceeding that, mas mataas - about 37,000. But - when we were able to revert back to face to face classes and mas naging robust iyong ating implementation ng Comprehensive Sexuality Education,  bumukas iyong mga teen centers natin, we were able to provide additional programs for adolescent reproductive health - we saw significant decrease to about 13,000 na lang na teenage pregnancy cases,&quot; he told ABS-CBN News.&quot;And then, of course, nakatulong iyong ating implementation ng Alternative Delivery Modes or iyong mga ADMs sa pagbaba ng drop outs due to teenage pregnancy. If I remember correctly, our figure is about 86 percent decrease. Because now, you don&#x27;t have to drop out when you get pregnant,&quot; he added. Galban said that DepEd&#x27;s ultimate goal is to eliminate teenage pregnancy, with the help of community-driven programs. &quot;We want to emphasize na hindi po iyong teenage pregnancy iyong gusto naming gawing norm. Ang norm na gusto naming i-push is that you can continue learning regardless of your personal considerations and challenges,&quot; he said.&quot;Pero we are fighting towards a new norm wherein there are zero teen pregnancies. Because for us, kahit isang kaso ng teenage pregnancy is too much kaya talagang pinapaigting namin iyong mga programa namin pagdating sa CSE, sa ARH (Adolescent Reproductive Health), pati iyong kanilang involvement sa community, iyong linkages ng DepEd with DOH, with DSWD, talagang pinapalakas natin. Particularly pag nagkaroon ng kaso ng teenage pregnancy, i-activate na iyong ProtecTEEN ng DSWD, iyong pagre-relate natin sa mga teen centers both in school and sa community. Pati iyong pag-activate ng ating mga adolescent-friendly health facilities ng DOH,&quot; he added.Galban admitted that they need the help of parents and families to eliminate teenage pregnancy. &quot;It is a cause for concern... It is very dangerous on their health kasi, of course, their bodies are still developing. Kumbaga bata pa sila tapos magpapalaki sila ng bata - that is a very concerning issue. But at the same time, iyong economic aspect because the likelihood of not finishing is higher when you are taking care of someone already,&quot; he said.&quot;Kaya ang gusto natin talagang we reduce - if not totally - eliminate teenage pregnancy. So that they can focus on developing themselves first, magkaroon ng tamang edukasyon para magkaroon ng tamang trabaho, para makatulong sa bayan, and then, of course, eventually build a family at the right time. And ang challenge talaga dito is how do we penetrate and break through the noise... Kailangan talaga ng tutok hindi lamang ng eskwelahan, pero kasama rin ang mga magulang,&quot; he added.<div>WHY &#x27;FACE TO FACE&#x27; DISCUSSIONS MATTER </div>Galban believes that a contributor to the decrease in teenage pregnancy cases is the return of face-to-face classes, as this promotes interaction between teachers and students. He said teachers are trained to talk about sexuality issues--from basic topics like body parts, value of consent (good touch or bad touch) to sensitive topics like what to do and where to report when harasssment arises, family planning, among others. &quot;Doon sa panahon na most of our learners are at home tapos very limited iyong talagang tutok na teaching natin - because, of course, CSE is a very delicate and sensitive topic - so it&#x27;s more effectively conducted siguro through face to face. Para iyong mga questions nila, they can be responded to, pwedeng magkaroon ng mga side discussions with the teachers,&quot; he explained.&quot;I think it was helpful to go back to face-to-face, and siguro very compromised din iyong delivery during the pandemic wherein it had to be done virtual. Of course, this is a fundamental issue na kailangan ng sensitivities and a bit of delicate approach sa implementation,&quot; he added.Teenage centers in schools and communities are also provide an avenue for students to be more open in sharing their concerns. &quot;They house all of the resources that pertain to teenage pregnancy prevention, reproductive health, even HIV prevention... But on the part of DepEd, we&#x27;re exploring on expanding its functionalities so that pwede iyong issues on mental health issues, on drug abuse prevention education. Kumbaga isang bahay na lang lahat for all of the support services ng ating mga kabataan,&quot; Galban said.&quot;And one of the two major thrusts talaga noon is that it is also one of the avenues for us to do assessments when it comes to risk level. So we... use a lot of tools to evaluate the risk level of our learners so that makapag-intervene tayo at the appropriate time and in an appropriate way,&quot; he added.<div>&#x27;CHILD PREGNANCY&#x27; TERM PUSHED</div>The official shared that the DepEd is pushing for a change of teminology - from &quot;teenage pregnancy&quot;, the agency believes it is more apt to use the term &quot;child pregnancy&quot;.&quot;Because by definition, &#x27;pag below 18 years old ka sa Pilipinas, considered as bata. So probably to help further strengthen iyong message natin na kailangan ma-invest natin in terms of protection sa mga bata. It&#x27;s not just teen na lang kasi talaga. Sometimes, we now see cases of kids as young as 9 years old, 8 years old getting pregnant... As far as I know... there was a case of a child giving birth of age of 10. So those are already not teen in terms of the definition of &#x27;teen&#x27;. So talagang child pregnancy na iyong mangyayari sa atin. So anything 18 and below is a consideration for discussion,&quot; Galban said.The DepEd is among the 300 civil society organizations and government agencies that met Thursday to urge lawmakers to pass the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill, which institutionalizes programs to avoid teenage pregnancy, and implements interventions as needed. Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel, one of the authors of the bill, said this has been passed on third and final reading in the House of Representatives, while still pending on second reading in the Senate. For Manuel, all youths aside from teenage mothers will benefit from the measure as this will &quot;empower&quot; them.&quot;Kasi with the access to reproductive health services... coupled with education efforts and information dissemination sa paano gagamitin ang mga ito ay napoprotektahan natin ang mga kabataan, in terms of their sexual and reproductive rights. Para makapagpasya sa kanilang mga buhay when to start families, paano din maging productive members of society by having better employment opportunities at tuloy tuloy na edukasyon,&quot; he said during the forum. The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) is also supportive of the measure, as the agency asked local government units and other institutions to pass similar policies. &quot;The Commission on Population and Development, together with other stakeholders here present, call for our esteemed senators to please pass the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill. And then also, we acknowledge and we call on our institutions - particularly our local government units - to also pass ordinances and policies on Executive Order No. 141, where adolescent pregnancy is an urgent national priority,&quot; said Mylin Mirasol Quiray, head of CPD&#x27;s Knowledge Management and Communications Division. Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), adolescent pregnancies increased to 10 percent - from 136,302 recorded in 2021 to 150,138 in 2022 for those aged 10 to 19 years old. Pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14 years old also rose to 48 percent - from 2,113 in 2020 to 3,135 in 2022.

There is a "significant decrease" in the number of teenage pregnancies in public schools, especially when students gradually returned to in-person classes, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday.

There is a "significant decrease" in the number of teenage pregnancies in public schools, especially when students gradually returned to in-person classes, an official of the Department of Education (DepEd) said Thursday.

Teen pregnancies in public schools decrease as in-person classes resume

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Teen pregnancies in public schools decrease as in-person classes resume

Arra Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 19, 2024 05:19 PM PHT

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