IF the government were to be successful in its efforts to control unplanned pregnancies amid pandemic lockdowns nationwide, the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) said the increase in birth rates due to quarantines could be less than 5 percent.
Undersecretary and Popcom Executive Director Juan Antonio Perez III told the BusinessMirror that the government, under business as usual, will lead to a birth rate of 17.6 percent, which translates to about 250,000 babies.
Perez said a birth rate of 17.6 percent is “unprecedented and record breaking” for the Philippines. He said this is the reason the Popcom is intensifying its work in non-general community quarantine areas.
“Our best outcome would be a minimal increase, under 5 percent. That would by itself be against the pattern of declining birth rates since 2012,” Perez said on Monday.
Perez said preventing an increase in the birth rate will help in the country’s efforts in combating stunting and wasting. With fewer children, households will be able to provide adequate nutrition for young Filipinos.
Preventing wasting and stunting, especially among children, is important. When children are undernourished and stunted, they may be compromised for life.
Wasting and stunting does not only compromise the health of Filipinos but also their ability to excel in school and potential to earn a decent living in the future.
Perez said this is the reason for the government’s efforts to promote full and exclusive breastfeeding of up to five months, proper weaning, targeted feeding programs and implement law on first 1,000 days, including the period of maternity.
“Our increased work on community-based family planning in collaboration with volunteers and the challenge initiative for minors are our linked response to the potential problem,” Perez said.
“We plan to monitor closely the annual indicators such as maternal death rates, crude birth rates, including adolescent birth, wasting, under 5 mortality rates and contraceptive prevalence rates,” he added.
On Monday, University of the Philippines economist Ernesto M. Pernia echoed the concern of Popcom with regard to the increase in birth rate next year amid the lockdowns.
Pernia blamed the “thinly spread health services, including family planning program” for the increase in what he termed as “quarantine babies” expected to be born next year.
In July, the Popcom said Covid-19 will lead to a baby boom, the death of thousands of mothers, and a spike in domestic abuse.
Popcom said the Covid-19 pandemic and disruptions in access to essential services could result in increasing the annual maternal deaths to 3,200, or 26 percent higher than 2019, as well as in a significant increase in unplanned pregnancies, including among thousands of teenage girls.
Popcom also said domestic violence is expected to increase as women and girls are stuck in the same home as their abusive partners, although many of them would be unreported.
In an online presentation during the celebration of World Population Day, University of the Philippines Population Institute Professor Maria Paz Marquez said their study showed that the number of unintended pregnancies this year could reach 5.17 million, representing a 2.07 million increase due to the pandemic.
This represented a 42-percent increase in the number of unintended pregnancies or 79,000 additional unintended pregnancies per month of quarantine. She said this was due to the community quarantine induced reduction in family planning services.
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