Inay at a Young Age

Young Adulthood, as written by Josefina N. Natividad and Maria Paz N. Marquez, is a time normally associated with the onset of sexual activity, both within and outside the context of a committed relationship Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study 3.

According to the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey, one out of five Metro Manila women aged 15 to 24 are already mothers.

Early Pregnancy

Early pregnancy heightens the health problems it associates. Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adolescents and Youth in the Philippines reports that Filipino teenage mothers account for 20 % of all maternal deaths in the country and 17 percent of fetal deaths. This may be because an adolescent reproductive system is not fully developed and able to withstand birthing which can result in ruptures. Another is having a breech pregnancy which is twice as frequent among teenagers as among general population. Also, four months of postpartum, half of all 15 to 24 year old mothers resume menstruation, making them at risk of becoming pregnant again (http://www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/C39735C6-2817-4BC0-B527-3F22FBA7F2B9/0/ASRHphilippines.pdf, November 2008).

In its October 2007 issue, Policy Brief provided the following statistical facts:
♀ Children born to teenage mothers are more likely to die before their first birthday than are the infants of older mothers. They are also more likely to have low birth weights, which increase the risks for serious illness and death.
♀ Over 20 percent of teen mothers drop out of school when they become pregnant. Teen women with children are less likely to return to school and are more likely to face limited career and economic opportunities compared to women whose first children are born after age 20.
♀ Two out of five births by teenage mothers were unwanted at the time of conception. Faced with an unintended pregnancy, an adolescent will often resort to self-induced abortion or the services of an untrained birth attendant.
♀ It is estimated that one in five pregnant adolescents experiences physical abuse.
♀ Teens from poorer families are more likely to initiate sexual intercourse at a younger age and less likely to use contraceptives or to use contraception successfully.
♀ Young women are more likely to die in childbirth.
♀ Adolescents age 15 through 19 are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or child birth as those over 20; girls under 15 are five times more likely to die.
♀ More than 60 percent of young mothers below 20 years old delivered their babies at home; two of five (40 percent) deliveries by adolescent mothers were assisted by hilots or traditional birth attendants rather than medical professionals.

Early Marriage as raison d'être
Because it is a cultural practice, early marriage is not usually recognized as a reason that has helped elevated the number of early pregnancies.

Since the country practices diversity, the legal female age for marriage varies as a result.

Let us take Philippine Constitution 1987 and Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines (CMLP) for instance. Philippine Family Code considers 18 as the appropriate age while CMPLP states that “. . . the solemnization of the marriage of a female who though less than fifteen but not below twelve years of age . . .” (Chapter II, Article 16).

-Amanah Busran Lao
HAIN Research Associate

Citations:
• Natividad, Josefina N., Marquez, Maria Paz N. Sexual Risk Behavior. Youth Sex and Risk Behaviors in the Philippines. Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc. University of the Philippines Population Institute Diliman, Quezon City
• “Did You Know”. Philippine Daily Inquirer: August 26, 2008
• http://www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/C39735C6-2817-4BC0-B527-3F22FBA7F2B9/0/ASRHphilippines.pdf
• Policy Brief. October 2007.
• Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines. Chapter II, Article 16.