• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Some 5,721 teenage pregnancies, with mothers as young as 12 years old, were recorded in Negros Occidental in 2023, data of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) showed.
Dr. Ma. Girlie Pinongan, provincial health officer, yesterday said they noted that teenage pregnancy is prevalent among the out-of-school youth.
In the municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto, Mayor Laurence Marxlen de la Cruz informed them that 52 percent of the pregnant women are teenagers, she added.
The Commission on Population and Development-Western Visayas has urged parents to guide and monitor the activities of their children, as part of responsible parenthood, as teenage pregnancy in the region is at an alarming level since 2021.
Teenage pregnancy is when a woman under 20 gets pregnant.
It usually refers to teens between the ages of 15 and 19.
However, Pinongan said they have monitored mothers as young as 12 years old in the province.
PHO records showed that there were 35,628 pregnant women of all ages last year while teenage pregnancies were recorded at 5,721.
It is less than the figures in 2022, where PHO logged 39,411 pregnant women of all ages, with 6,026 teenage pregnancies.
Pinongan underscored the need for teen mothers to visit the child-friendly facilities in each of the local government unit health centers.
They also enlisted the help of barangay health workers in their campaign, she said. | GB
