Teenage Pregnancy Continues to Rise
Teenage pregnancy (19 years old and below) in Negros Oriental continues to rise. In a recent Kapihan sa PIA, Population Commission (PopCom) Negros Island Region (NIR) regional director Darlynn Remolino said that in 2014, there were 4,103 cases in the province and in 2015, there were 4,895 cases. The trend is also the same all over the country which is developing as a serious concern for the government.
To address the problem, the Learning Package for Education Development (LPED) was established by PopCom where parents and children discuss issues on responsible parenthood, adolescence and sexuality facilitated by trained staff from the Department of Health (DOH) and PopCom. In addition, PopCom also organized teen centers for young people through information caravan managed by the Dumaguete Youth Leaders for Development (DYLD) as peer educators on sexuality issues and on life skills to avoid risky behaviors leading to teenage pregnancy and its consequences in their young lives.
At the Kapihan sa PIA, the topic “Family Planning and Breastfeeding: Keys to Sustainable Development” was discussed. Aside from being healthy to infants, Remolino revealed that breastfeeding is also a form of natural family planning because ovulation of the mother can be delayed through exclusive breastfeeding for six months. Proper birth spacing will allow the mother to take better care of the family.
The DOH is the lead agency in advocating family planning and breastfeeding. Dr. Socrates Villamor of the DOH said breastfeeding does not only reduce child mortality rate but also ensures the health and nutrition of both mother and child. He cited Republic Act No. 10028, also known as the Expanded Breastfeeding Act of 2009, where business establishments, malls and work places are mandated to put up lactating stations for mothers to continually breastfeed, enhancing mother-infant relationship.
August is Family Planning month and according to Laume Quijote of the Dumaguete City PopCom Office, they have on-going family planning sessions for husbands and wives, seminars and trainings for capacitating services providers and health workers in advocating population issues and “cross roads” sessions for the youth to educate them on their rights and responsibilities.
