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Local in Progress: Rising Teenage Pregnancies During COVID-19
Pandemic
A thesis presented to the
Faculty of the School of Nursing
And Allied Health Sciences
St. Paul University Philippines
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY
Buco, Lyka Kate C.
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St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500
Cabacungan, Kate Maica
Lucas, Quenie Aerah D.
Orpilla, Lovely R.
[ June, 2021 ]
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St. Paul University Philippines
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CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
As a prevention in the spread of COVID-19 virus, the
government implement lockdowns in the country mandating all
of its citizens to stay home. During the COVID-19 pandemic
one of the prevalent dilemmas is about teenage pregnancy.
Teenage pregnancy continues to be a problem locally and
internationally. Many people are claiming that the pandemic
has seen a rise in the number of teenage pregnancy. Teenage
pregnancy poses a concern since some came from student’s age
13 to 18 years old.
A study conducted by the University of the Philippines
Population Institute (UPPI) and the United Nations
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Population Fund (UNFPA), revealed that an estimated 214, 000
babies were
born last year (2020) which also pushed the number of births
in the country to almost 1.9 million due to COVID-19
lockdowns.
The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) said
that the lockdown also meant hundreds of thousands of
teenage women have been unable to access family planning
supplies and this is one of the adverse impacts of community
quarantine to the welfare of every family which further
aggregates the situation of the ongoing health crisis.
However, there is no study yet regarding teenage pregnancy
in (location) Schools. Hence, this in-depth descriptive
study would give a clearer, better and deeper understanding
about this present dilemma.
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Review of Related Literature
Teenage pregnancy refers to unintended pregnancy of a female
occurring between the ages of 13 –19 years. According to the
World Health Organization (WHO, 2010), about 16 million
women aged 15 to 19 years old give birth each year, most in
low middle class income countries. According to United
Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF, 2010), the main
rise in teen pregnancy rate is among girls younger than 15
years and close to 25% of teen mothers have second child
within two years of the second birth. The statistics do not
include those pregnancies that began in women aged 19 years
if they did not end the pregnancy on or after the woman’s
20th birthday. The 2014 world health statistics indicates
the average global birth rate among 15 to 19 years old is 49
per 1000 girls.
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The worldwide teenage pregnancy rates ranges from 143 per
1000 in sub Saharan countries to 269 per 1000 in South
Korea. The
developed countries like USA, UK and New Zealand have the
highest level of teenage pregnancy while Japan and South
Korea have the lowest (UNICEF, 2010).
Teenage pregnancy is a global phenomenon and a public health
importance affecting both high and low income nations with
the highest prevalence in sub Saharan Africa. It is
estimated that 13 million children are born to women under
the age of 20 years worldwide annually and more than 90% of
these occur in Sub Saharan Africa (Envulada, 2014).
In Sub Saharan Africa teenage pregnancy is high because
women tend to marry at an early age. In Niger for example,
87 % of the women were married and 53% had given birth to a
child before the age of 18 years (Baker, 2007)
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In Kenya, Teenage parenting was not peculiarly a Kenyan
phenomenon. It was a phenomenon of international proportions
for teenagers who attempted to exploit their sexuality.
Globally, a survey was conducted to establish the percentage
of teenage sex victims. A total of 5,353 youths in 25
countries of Asia, Pacific, Europe and the USA participated.
Studies showed the rise of unprotected sex among the youth
aged between 15 and 24. Births to teenagers were reported to
have fallen to their lowest rate in the 60 years that
statistics had been kept from an all-time rate of 96 births
per 1,000 women of age 15-19 years in 1957 to an all-time
low rate of 49 per 1,000 women in 2,000. The U.S.A. teen
birth rate was one of the highest in the developed world.
More than three fourths of pregnancies of teenagers were
unplanned half of which ended in births. Twelve percent of
all births in the United States were to teenagers, most of
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who came from disadvantaged backgrounds. An elating new
trend was the dramatic increase in the proportion of teen
births that were non- marital
African – American teens were more sexually active than
Whites and their birth rates were high just like the poor,
Whites who displayed high teenage birth rates (Devault,
Strong, Sayad&Yarber, 2005).
Teenage parenting has consequences on the attainment of
educational goals. Consequences which impact negatively on
the teenage parent for instance not accessing education by
dropping out of school and thereby failing to achieve the
academic goals. (Prowed, 2011)
Adolescent pregnancy rate in the United States was much
higher than in other industrialized countries. It was more
than twice as high as the rates in the Netherlands and Japan
(Santrock, 2001).
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Further to this was that despite a 21% decline in the rate
of pregnancy among, older adolescents between ages 15 and
19,
nearly 12,000 adolescent females under age 15 became
pregnant each year (Rothenberg &Weisman, 2002; NCPTP,
2003). It was more than twice as high as Australia‟s and
Canada‟s more than three times as high as France‟s, three
and a half times as high as Germany‟s, six and a half times
as high as the Netherlands and seven times as high as
Japan‟s (United Nations, 2011; Hamittonet al).
Adolescence is a stage where many of the teenagers have
difficulties in adjusting to life and dealing with their
sexuality. Creates, (1993) explained that adolescents
developed biological maturity earlier than in the past
generations causing some to fall victims of adolescent
pregnancy. Early pregnancy had harmful implications on the
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girls‟ physical, psychological economic and social status
(Tsai and Wong, 2003). The greater the number of sex
partners, the more likely teenagers were to be involved in a
pregnancy.
When the number of partners dropped to less than two, only
25 percent of teenage girls and 9 percent of teenage boys
had experienced or had been involved in a pregnancy
(Sullentrop&Flanigan, 2006).
Teenage pregnancy and child bearing presented a paradox in
many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, which has one of the
highest levels of such cases in African Countries. (Were,
2007). Xinhua (1996), reported that in Ghana, nearly 33.4%
of recorded childbirths occurred to teenagers between ages
thirteen (13) and nineteen (19). This report was based on
childbirths that were reported in public hospitals. The
situation was worse in rural areas where traditional birth
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attendants were used and no statistical records had been
kept. More disheartening was a report from Xinhua (1996)
that one out of three girls aged 15 to 19 years residing in
the central region of Ghana had a child. Africa as a
continent was not an
exception in this matter. Studies from South Africa found
that 11.20% of pregnancies in teenagers were a direct result
of rape while about 60% of teenage mothers had unwanted
sexual experiences preceding their pregnancies. Reports said
that Sub-Saharan Africa showed the highest rate of teenage
pregnancy, in the world where women got married at an early
age. A survey was carried out in Niger on 87% of married
women, out of who 53% admitted to have had a child before
they were 18 years old (Locoh, 1998 &Treffers, 2003).
Teenage parenting caused economic dependency. Adolescent
mothers became economically dependent due to their decreased
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educational attachment that resulted from their decision to
keep and raise children (Brindis&Philliber 2003; Farber,
2003).Rothenberg and Weissman (2002) found that of out of 10
females who became adolescent mothers did not graduate from
high school. Less than one third of adolescent females
giving birth before age 18 ever completed high school. The
younger the pregnant adolescents were, the less likely they
were to complete high school (Koshar, 2001;
Brindis&Philliber, 2003).
Pregnancy was both a cause and a result of poverty due to
low academic achievement among teenagers. The problem was
part of the “cycle of poverty” in which very young mothers
often stayed poor and their children were at increased risk
for teenage pregnancy, poverty and low academic outcomes
(Basch, 2010).
When teenagers do not receive the support and resources they
need, a variety of detrimental consequences can result. Data
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from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) listed
within Melhado‟s research showed that teenage parenting had
a total of 11.9 years of education compared to those who had
no children and who averaged 13.9 years of education.
However, having access to appropriate resources could reduce
this 2 year education penalty”(Melhado, 2007).
Dropping out of school was a consequence of teenage
parenting. Pillow (2004) argued that teenagers mostly
affected by teenage pregnancy were young women who were
already living in impoverished conditions prior to becoming
pregnant. Most working class households were too poor to
provide for their children’s education and the indirect
costs of sending them to school. Young people with below
average achievement level at ages 7 and 16 had been found to
be at significantly higher risk of becoming teenage parents
(Kiernan, 1995). Evidence, suggested that young fathers
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(defined as those who become fathers before the age of 22),
like young mothers were likely to come from lower
socioeconomic groups from families that had experienced
financial difficulties and were more likely than average to
have left school at the minimum age. The effects of early
childbearing were also negative for teen fathers. They were
more likely to engage in delinquent behaviours such
as alcoholism and drug abuse or drug dealing and they
completed fewer years of schooling than their childless
peers (Tan and Quinliven, 2006).
The risk of getting HIV and AIDS, Sexually Transmitted
Diseases (STDs) and other severe health complications
resulting from their bodies not being mature enough to
handle childbirth safely, were other consequences of teenage
parenting. In addition the parenting girl discovered that
there was a big difference between motherhood and the
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teenage fantasies. Besides, many girls found out that
fending for themselves and their new-born was far more
difficult than they ever imagined (Mburu, 2010). Teenage
mothers had special needs majorly health care and education
where one-third of pregnant teens received contraceptive
prenatal care and needed contraceptive counseling and
services. Graduation from high
school was a vital goal of educational programs for teenage
mothers because it directly influenced their employability
and ability to support themselves and their children. Such
programs were under funded and periodically threatened with
termination (Devault, Strong, Sayad&Yarber, 2005).
The worst consequence of teenage parenting was death. Girls
who gave birth under the age of 16 years were more likely to
die as a result of excessive hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia or to
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what many referred to as obstructed labor. With an estimated
population of about 5.6 million in Sierra Leone, 48% of whom
were below the age of eighteen years and this led to the
country being ranked last in the Human Development Index
117th with 38% of the population not meeting their food
needs. This was according to a 2007 statistical report on
Sierra Leone Core Welfare Indicators Survey conducted.
Primarily, teenage pregnancy had been identified as a
booming problem in the very country – Sierra Leone- where as
long as the teenage girl was married then it ceased to be a
problem but was only a problem when she remained unmarried
(Kamara, 2011).
Here in the Philippines the report of the 2019 Population
Commission Survey (POPCOM), latest data from the Philippine
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Statistics Authority which revealed that Filipino minors who
gave birth in 2019 increased to 62,510 from 62,341 in 2018.
"In 2019, 2,411 girls considered as very young adolescents
aged 10 to 14 gave birth, or almost seven every day. This
was a three-fold increase from 2000, when only 755 from the
said age group gave birth," the commission said.
It added that one in three births among minors occurred in
the three regions of Calabarzon with 8,008, National Capital
Region with 7,546 and Central Luzon with 7,523 births.
Outside
Luzon, the highest number of minors who gave birth were in
Northern Mindanao with 4,747 cases, Davao Region with 4,551,
and Central Visayas with 4,541.
Juan Antonio Perez III, Population and Development
Undersecretary said they are coordinating with the
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Department of Social Welfare and Development for the teenage
pregnancy reduction program as part of the government's
roadmap to reduce poverty. He added that a "whole-of-
government approach" will be applied with the help of the
private sector, local government units, relevant government
agencies and other development partners to tackle the issue.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2017) an
average of 538 babies are born to Filipino teenage mothers
daily. At 5.99 percent, the Philippines has the second
highest teen pregnancy in Southeast Asia based on Save the
Children’s Global Childhood Report (2019).
All of these result in grave consequences on poverty and
child health. Some 62 percent of teen mothers drop out of
school. By age 20, they would be earning 87 percent less
than an average 20-year old woman’s pay. Some estimates
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place this at P24 billion to P47 billion yearly in lost
earnings.
Based on Gates Institute and the Zuellig Family Foundation,
The situation will worsen with the COVID-19 lockdowns. The
UP Population Institute projects that for every month of
quarantine, an additional 79,000 unintended pregnancies are
expected. This may lead to an additional 18,000 more
teenage pregnancies by the end of 2020 to the normal
average.
Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF), started looking at teenage
pregnancy in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur. Its commissioned
research in 2015 showed rising teen pregnancies especially
among low income, low educational attainment households.
Results showed a lack of sexuality education and poor access
to reproductive health services and commodities.
Subsequently, ZFF entered into partnerships with PopCom,
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UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), and the USAID
(United States Agency for International Development) on
family planning and reproductive health.
In 2016, Oying Rimon, director of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Institute visited Manila to explore the creation of a
mechanism, with funds raised from high networth individuals
and matched with funds from the Gates Foundation. The team
discussed the interest considering that the fund was to
promote, among others, family planning and reduction of
teenage pregnancies.
In order to control the rising number of teenage pregnancy
in the Philippines the Department of Health implement
different programs. Administrative Order No.34-A, s 2000,
the Adolescent and Youth Health Policy was issued in April
2000. It created
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the Adolescent and Youth Health Sub- Program under the
Family Health Program. It envisioned well-informed
empowered, responsible and healthy adolescents and youth.
The mission was to ensure that all adolescents and youth
have access to quality comprehensive health care and
services in an adolescent and youth-friendly environment.
Due to a rise in the number of adolescents and increase in
risky behaviors among Filipino adolescents over the years,
AO 34-A was revised and aligned with the goals of Kalusugan
Pangkalahatan (KP) thus Administrative Order 2013- 0013 was
issued. It aims to achieve the following health outcomes
among adolescents: (1) Healthy Development (2) Healthy
Nutrition (3) Sexual and Reproductive Health (4) Reduction
of Substance Use (5) Reduction of Injuries and Mortality,
Morbidity and Psychosocial Consequences of Injuries (6)
Reduction of all
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Forms of Violence and Mortality, Morbidity and Psychosocial
Consequences of Violence and (7) Mental Health.
The 2008 and 2013 National Demographic Health Survey showed
that the percentage of women age fifteen (15) – nineteen
(19) who had a live birth or is pregnant with first child
had increased from 9.9% – 10.1% in the country. In the
Cordillera Administrative Region, the percentage of women
age fifteen (15) – twenty four (24) who have begun
childbearing also increased from 26% – 29%.This was
attributed to the following risky behaviors identified by
the adolescents during the Regional Adolescent Congress
which was conducted last year: Early sex, Substance abuse,
Pornography, VAWC (rape case) ,Fraternities (bad gangs) &
Prostitution.
The program strategies to be implemented include1) Health
promotion and behavior change for adolescents to utilize
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health services, practice healthy behaviors, avoid risks 2)
Improving access to quality and adolescent-friendly health
care services and information 3) Expanding health
insurance 4) Enhancing skills of service providers, families
and adolescents to protect their health and development
5).Strengthening partnerships among adolescent groups,
government agencies, civil society, the private sector,
families and communities for the achievement of MDG IV & V
6) Strengthening policy at all levels to ensure that all
adolescents have access to information and services 7)
Ensuring sufficient resources to implement a sustainable
adolescent health program 8) Resource mobilization.
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Theoretical Framework
Survey Questionnaire
Formulate
Questionnaire
Convene the Participants Analysis of the gathered
Data
Explain the significance
of the study
Record the collected data
and the selection of the
Explain on how to answer Send or distribute the
the questionnaire questionnaire
Figure 1. Research Paradigm
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Statement of the Problem
Generally, the study determine the local progress of rising
teenage pregnancies during COCVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:
1. What are the lived experiences of the students regarding
early pregnancy?
2. What coping mechanisms do pregnant students use to address
problems on pregnancy?
3. What are the realizations of the pregnant students
learned?
Hypothesis:
There is no significance between the number of teenage
pregnancy before and during the COVID-19 pandemic at a
significant level of 0.01.
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Significance of the Study
The findings of the study are expected to be of benefit to
the following:
Students, for they will be informed about the causes and
possible effects of teenage pregnancy to their studies. This
study will also guide them to focus to their studies and to
gain awareness and knowledge in the increasing number of
teenage pregnancy cases.
Parents, for they will realize their great role in educating
their children, protecting and diverting them indulging early
sex through this study. This study will also serve as guide
in influencing their children in making right decision.
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Teachers, will be informed how important education to the
development of children to manhood is. This enables them to
guide and identify the major causes of teenage pregnancy that
encourage the students to focus in study and not to involve
their self in premarital sex.
Future researchers, this study would help the student
researchers to be aware and knowledgeable about teenage
pregnancy. It would help them to gain information that work
as their and future reference for more studies in the future.
Scope and Limitations
This descriptive research is delimited only to the identified
pregnant students in the secondary schools of the (place).
These participants experienced early pregnancy during the
COVID-19 pandemic wherein at the same time they are studying.
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One of the weaknesses of this study, however, was that it
utilized the survey questionnaire method, which means that
the results may lack generalizability. Another weakness was
the small number of informants of the study. Despite
safeguards as to the trustworthiness and credibility of the
statements of the informants, their small number contributed
to the probability that the statements of the informants may
not be truly representative of the total population of the
students who got pregnant in the entire division of (place).
Definition of Terms
Teenage Pregnancy, is when a woman under 20 gets pregnant. It
usually refers to teens between the ages of 15-19. But it can
include girls as young as 10. It’s also called teen
pregnancy or adolescent pregnancy.
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Dilemma, a situation in which a difficult choice has to be
made between two or more alternatives, especially equally
undesirable ones.
Implement, carry out, accomplish especially to give practical
effect to and ensure of actual fulfillment by concrete
measures
Lockdown, an emergency protocol implemented by the
authorities that prevents people from leaving a given area. A
full lockdown will mean that the people in the given area
must stay where they are and must not exit or enter a
building or given area.
Pandemic, is a disease outbreak that spreads across countries
or continents. It affects more people and takes more lives
than an epidemic.
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Quarantine, a specific period of time in which
a person or animal that has a disease, or may have one,
must stay or be kept away
from others in order to prevent the spread of the disease
Coping mechanism, are the strategies people often use in the
face of stress and/or trauma to help manage painful or
difficult emotions. Coping mechanisms can help people adjust
to stressful events while helping them maintain their
emotional well-being.
Premarital sex, any sexual activity with an
opposite sex partner or with same sex partner before he/she
has started a marriage life
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Manhood, the condition of being an adult male as
distinguished from a child or female.
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Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the different procedures in Local in
Progress: Rising Teenage Pregnancy During COVID-19 Pandemic
Research Design
Descriptive study will be the research approach to be
utilized in the study. It offers an interpretive mode of
inquiry that seeks to describe the local in progress of
increasing teenage pregnancies during COVID-19 pandemic
experiences and enables underlying structures and
commonalities in meanings to be understand.
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Subjects/Participants of the Study
Participants of this study includes 30 teenage mothers aged
13-18 years old who got pregnant during covid-19 pandemic.
All participants in this study were volunteers. Some
participants were recruited from different barangays from
(place).
Data Collection Procedures and Instrumentation
The researchers used survey questionnaire to collect the
data. Structured question will be given to the participant
to get the personal information and perspective on their
case. Afterwards, their answers will be analyzed and
interpret.
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Data Analysis
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REFERENCES:
