CASES of teenage pregnancy in Bacolod City declined in 2016 compared to the number recorded in 2015, figures of the City Health Office (CHO) showed.
Dr. Ma. Carmela Gensoli, city health officer, said Tuesday, May 16, that from January to December 2015, they recorded a total of 1,556 teenage pregnancies.
These include 17 from ages 10 to 17, and 1,539 from ages 15 to 19.
In 2016, the number of teenage pregnancies in Bacolod went down to 1,302.
Gensoli said of the 1,302 cases, 20 are from ages 10 to 17, and 1, 282 from ages 15 to 19.
Rosemarie Hubag, assistant regional director of Commission on Population Region 6, said in the national level in 2002, teenage pregnancy rate was only four percent, but in 2015, it reached 15 percent.
Gensoli, who led the Safe Motherhood and Wellness for Reproductive Age Group (SWRA) Congress at Bacolod City National High School Tuesday, along with the regional officials of the Department of Health (DOH)-Western Visayas, said there’s a decrease in teenage pregnancy because of the CHO’s advocacy to educate the young ones.
“Our teenagers now understand that early pregnancy is not easy and it’s not good for them. They are not yet ready to be a mother,” Gensoli said.
The SWRA Congress was spearheaded by the CHO with the DOH-Western Visayas.
Dr. Reynilyn Reyes, head of Family Health and Nutrition Cluster of DOH-Western Visayas, said the SWRA Congress is held in coordination with different stakeholders in maternal health, especially in the family planning program in Bacolod.
She said the SWRA Congress will identify women in reproductive stage of 15 to 49 years old that need the modern family planning method.
The activity was attended by 115 patients or mothers from 14 barangays in Bacolod City.
These barangays are Banago, Granada, Bata, Estefania, Alijis, Tangub, Sum-ag, Mansilingan, Handumanan, Vista Alegre, Singcang-Airport, Taculing, Villamonte, and Mandalangan.
The barangays were required to bring 10 patients each, but only 115 patients had registered.
Reyes said the patients were given free family planning methods such as intrauterine device insertion, injectables, pills, and condoms.
The DOH allotted P10 million for the family planning program.
