By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
ONE OF the current and hottest topics in Negros Occidental is teen pregnancy.
Hospitals, clinics and maternity centers in towns and cities were basically “alarmed” by the number of “swamping” would-be mothers who were teenagers still.
Dr. Mary Ann Palermo-Maestral, chief of the Capitol-operated Teresita Lopez-Jalandoni Memorial Provincial Hospital (TLJMPH) in Silay City, admits they’re really “shocked” to note this unwanted phenomenon.
“But even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve already noticed this,” she adds.
Then, she stresses, in the midst of the health pandemic, it “worsened”.
But the fact is teenage pregnancy ain’t just a “boom” in Negros but a global problem already.
Research showed that even the United Nations Family Planning Agency (UNFPA) reports that, in 2015, almost 16 million girls aged 15-19 years old got pregnant.
Then, 2.5 million of them under16 years old give birth each year in developing regions.
In Negros, Dr. Maestral says they even have an 11-year-old girl-patient who were impregnated and gave birth to a bouncing baby.
Worst, she’s a victim of incest rape, confides the lady hospital chief.
TLJMPH is the current “dumping site” of teenage pregnancy cases in Negros.
Explains by Dr. Maestral, teenage pregnancy is a risky journey, thus, they don’t allow any victim to give birth in an ordinary health center or maternity clinic unless the situation necessitates really.
So, what they did?
TLJMPH, reveals Dr. Maestral, allotted a specific space for girl-preggies – from prenatal to delivery – which is basically “away from the public eyes”.
“We really want to protect the dignity of these girls, so, we see to it that this certain area at TLJMPH is really private.”
Then, there’s a social worker who assist them (girl-preggies) through counseling.
Nice endeavor!
Well, I can’t help but be awed by this “special treatment” for the would-be (teenage) moms initiated by TLJMPH management.
Kudos to Dr. Maestral for this one-of-a-kind endeavor at TLJMPH!
Commendable, indeed!
Why?
Teenage pregnancy, for me, is a special case.
It needs profound understanding of the victims’ situation.
Too, it needs utmost care and attention.
Just imagine if your beloved daughter gets pregnant just at the age of 11 or 13.
Perhaps, I can’t forgive myself.
Thus, teenage pregnancy is quite relatable to many parents nowadays.
But wait!
Before blaming the victims, let’s examine deeper what are the causes of teenage pregnancies.
‘NOMOPHOBIA’
Per the World Health Organization (WHO), these include: lack of parental care, lack of formal and informal education, lack of sex education, insufficient communication and supervision by parents, and the worse is poverty.
But, adds WHO, peer pressure, negative family interactions, and low educational level were being considered, too, as among the top causes.
While the saddest among is that most of the victims were those who ended up as “forceless” or unable to refuse unwanted sex or to resist forced or coerced sex.
But let’s also take into consideration the current digital era.
Parents should know that most kids now are suffering from the so-called “nomophobia” or the fear of being without a mobile phone.
Observation-wise, therefore, kids nowadays are so “restless” without cellphone, an internet connection or data loads.
Thus, perceived by many “smartphone addiction” seems to be worse than drug addiction.
Why?
It’s because by having cellphone all the times, kids become “daring” to explore even the restricted sites in the world-wide web (www).
Out of curiosity, they then become experimenters even in the field of sex.
Just late last year, a reigning beauty queen in one of the component cities in the province instantly became “infamous” after her sex video along with three naked lads went viral.
She’s 20, beautiful yet innocent?
At the National Bureau Investigation (NBI) in Bacolod, she revealed that she was only tempted by a “juicy offer” from a certain porn site to perform sexual exhibition.
Later she realized that it was, indeed, a “disaster’ for her entire family.
Pitiable!
MENTAL STRESS
Then, it’s undeniable that teenage pregnancy is susceptible to lots of medical complications.
And Dr. Maestral agreed to these global facts regarding medical complications brought about by teenage pregnancy.
She says girls’ ovaries are only ready for pregnancy at age 20.
Thus, WHO reports that complications are the leading causes of death during pregnancy and childbirth for 15 to 19 years old moms.
Based on a verified medical study, WHO says, an adolescent mom (10 to 19 years old) really faces higher risk of having eclampsia, puerperal endometritis and system infection.
In the United States, in 2015, it showed that three in 10 teens get pregnant.
Unfortunately, one of the four succumbed to abortion.
Thus, adolescent pregnancy, underscores WHO, remains a major contributor to maternal and child mortality, and to intergenerational cycles of ill health and poverty.
Worse, the girl-victims may also go through various stages of mental stress due to unplanned pregnancy, WHO furthers.
‘HELPLESS’
But both the Department of Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Commission on Population and Development (formerly POPCOM or Population Commission) seem to be “helpless” on the issue.
That’s because teenagers of today are quite “unstoppable’ when it comes to gadget experimentation and exploration.
So, what these agencies have right now is the so-called Social Protection for Teenage Mothers and their Children (SPPTMC).
Lately, however, both launched a program titled: “Leaving no one behind.”
Rationally of this program is to uplift lives of teen moms and their kids.
Also, both agencies combined their efforts and resources to combat the adverse effects of adolescent pregnancies in the country.
Great!
SHOCK TO DISAPPOINTMENT
However, it’s also a given fact that teenage pregnancy will send most parents of the victims to shock to disappointment or even to grief.
We cannot detach the reality that they really worry about their daughters’ future after teenage pregnancy.
Others get embarrassed, too.
They’re worried about how family, friends, and neighbors will react upon knowing that their teen daughters are pregnant.
Understandable!
While some parents also feel “guilty” for not guarding their daughters.
Thus, teen pregnancy is truly a “tricky” mission not just for the victim per se but for her parents as well.
Nonetheless, there’s no substitute to proper parental guidance.
(As always), parents must also be clear about their own values and attitudes along with their established rules in the family.
Open communication is a must, too.
Talk to you children as often as you could.
Be specific then as to your expectations on (their) behavior.
Moreover, know your daughters’ friends and their families.
Parents’ intervention is somehow expected to avert teen pregnancy.
Above all, do not allow your daughters to develop “nomophobia”.
Their fear of having no cellphone sometimes leads to their “fearlessness” to dare doing something full of risks.
And being risk takers sometimes they go beyond border(s).
So, equip your daughter all the available information they really needed before succumbing to the danger of the so-called “miscalculated” risk(s) beyond redemption./PN
