Once you had fun, it can never be undone. Happy is a mother who bears a child and happy is a child who has a mother, but what if you were born having a mom of at least 13 years of age difference? While other countries decline in numbers, the Philippines is the number one country, according to statistics, which has the fastest growing number of teen pregnancy. What is wrong? Unicef (2008) defines teenage pregnancy as a teenage girl, usually aged 13 to 19, becoming pregnant, it is referred to girls who have not reached legal adulthood who become pregnant. Manila Bulletin (2018) has reported that in the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) from the Department of Health (DOH) has concluded that the incidence of teenage or adolescence pregnancies remain at a considerable rate weighing nine percent (9%) of women from the age of 15-19 have already started childbearing, where Davao has the highest percentage of teenage births at 15.9%. Let's get into the point, what is the issue here? In a very much religious and traditional country like the Philippines, teenage pregnancy is a big issue. But before we talk about it, why do teens get into these secret affairs? Langham (n.d.) enumerated the reasons which causes teenage pregnancy: (1) peer pressure, (2) absent parents, (3) glamorization of pregnancy, (4) lack of knowledge, (5) sexual abuse or rape, and (6) teenage drinking. These reasons show that the social environment invites teenagers to have grounds to get involved in these “attachments”. Although it has been a lobbied debate topic for more than a decade, the national congress has passed a comprehensive reproductive health law last 2012 which guarantees free contraception and sex education in schools. But years after, the law is yet to be implemented because of the continuous and fierce opposition of the Catholic Church and other anti-abortion groups who challenged it before the Supreme Court. The pressure is on for young couples nowadays because of society. Teens see sexual interactions as more visible, acceptable and available given the opportunities. The key factor in early motherhood is because of their social environment, young boys and girls are curious in the conduct of having simple to multiple sexual intercourse. Young. The Generation Z, or those who were born 1995 onward, who is currently in Senior High School up to their college level, are the most curious generation of all. These young generation, based on a study by Kleinschmit (2018), uses their mobile phones for 15.4 hours, watches TV for 13.2 hours, and laptop for 10.6 hours. The young generation has been head-over-heels over the advancement of technology, this platform has given these individuals the power to do anything in the internet. The world wide web has been a market of open-source and full-faced platform of pornographic contents which has been openly accessible by anyone who has the capability to use the internet. A Facebook post by Singson (2019) showed statistics of teenage pregnancy in the Province of Ilocos Sur based from the data of the Provincial Health Office where a total of 4,176 incidence of pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 19 years old have been recorded from 2015 to 2017. Wild. Youth at age 12 to 15 lack the cognitive and emotional maturity that is necessary to make wise and healthy decisions regarding their sexuality and are ill-prepared to cope with consequences of sexual activities. These teens begin to show general interests to sexual topics. They may try to satisfy their curiosity by reading information about these and viewing images with vague content. Although teens are limited to self-pressure, both genders may start to experiment through hugging, flirting, and playfully hitting or tickling others they are romantically interested in. They are playful with their minds and begin telling sexual jokes or using sexual double entendres, which are comments with double meaning. Free. Because of the ease of access to the different social networking and unnecessary websites, all things in the internet are freely retrieved. The continuous growth of obscene sites is tickling the curiosity of the youth. Some of them may choose to abstain from sexual activity due to personal values and beliefs, but still, may experience similar thoughts, feelings, and desires, as to their social environment. Although most of these teens didn’t plan what had happened, studies showed that girls who entered early motherhood thought that they have changed personally. While most of the people in the Philippines are not yet ready to accept early motherhood, I have always believed that not taking the commitment that both of these young couple has entered is worse than leaving responsibilities. We may have different opinions on this issue but isn’t it better to be happy for someone who took an obligation? We, Filipinos, say that when a young boy and girl entered an intercourse which bear a life, we consider her as “disgrasyada”, and when the child is born, we consider it as a “blessing”. Now, let me ask you, what is the difference between a child in a mother’s womb and a child born? I am not saying that early pregnancy is a good thing, I just want to open the minds of people that there is a “good” in something unexpected. Submitted to iTech Publication for the second issue of Academic Year 2018-2019.
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iKenSpeak by Kenneth Jesmar Pacis | Author
Hey there! I'm Kenneth Jesmar Pacis, a newbie blogger and currently a manager of one of my family's business in Ilocos Norte, former instructor in a university in Ilocos Sur and a journalist of an award-winning student publication.
I'm on my way to becoming a vlogger, kidding! Writing has always served as a creative outlet of my random thoughts. I hope you enjoy my writings because I believe that #iKenSpeak and everyone can. |