“A glob formed inside of her. It’s like a pillow is hidden in her dress. I wonder who touched her. Where did the temptation emanate? I wonder how her parents would react when they see that.” Sometimes, we have these thoughts when we know a girl who is soon to experience child-bearing. Yes, we have this concept of chastity, but some eventually escape from it. Probably, some of us would say that premarital sex is something of iniquity; that virginity is a thing to protect until we’re finally married while some would, perhaps, be permissive and say that making love is natural. Either way, why is unplanned pregnancy something of utmost importance for everyone to know?
Data from 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) presented the percentage of births in the Philippines which showed that one in three births (36 percent) in the Philippines was classified as 16 percent as unwanted and the remaining 20 percent as mistimed ( http://census.gov.ph/). Since this was 7 years from now, what more today would unveil since social changes have underwent its course. The advent of social networks which enabled the world to be more exposed, and allowed us to connect easily with others; even literotica that some could eventually get hook to it; the social media which enables us to see what they offer us to see, etc. For a more recent statistics, 2014 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality study found out that “around 14 percent of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 are either pregnant for the first time or are already mothers – more than twice the recorded in 2002.” If this rate of teenage girls becoming mothers persists, how would it affect the Filipino family?
Some of us would probably consider Filipinos as family-oriented which means that most of our decisions and actions are directed and guided on what our family would have to say. In the case of intercourse among teenagers, Filipino families are very restrictive on premarital sex. As Medina (2001) stressed that the Philippine Society is generally and traditionally restrictive “both in terms of the proportion of the population who experience sex outside of marriage, and in terms of the number of sex partners.” Our family is not the only restrictive one, our stratification into a religious institution also represses us to commit such sex crimes. Hence, we adhere to the values and moralities imbued to us by them: the rejection of promiscuity and early sexual relations. Thus, the result that some would call premarital sex as something ignominious to the family; that sometimes it leads to abortion, or causes the pregnant daughter to leave the house. On the other hand, there exist kindhearted families who still accept the unexpected addition to their kin. Child-bearing and nurturing is something arduous: imagine balancing your academic duties in education, family relationships, social life with peers, and, of course, pampering yourself and the baby inside of you. Besides from learning to allocate their time to different responsibilities, a negative side would be hampering their future goals, ambitions, and aspirations. Also, other problems may arise especially if the father of the child leaves her with the all responsibilities, or because of other financial incapability and family-related difficulties. So rather than with impetuous actions, some victims of this early pregnancy consult with their families in regards to decision-making, and some matter of life choices because as stated earlier, we live in a family-oriented manner.
In addition, because a Filipino family is not just a nuclear family but can also be an extended one, the issue of teenage pregnancy among the family members is a big talk, or in other cases it even reaches and becomes the central gossip of the whole neighborhood. Hence, what every member has to say about the pregnancy could affect the pregnant daughter. Since premarital sex incessantly persists, some parents would prevent their children from being too precocious. Parents would be more stringent to their kids. Some would eventually behave their children to be more conservative, and some could assert more control to their youngsters. One of the odds is that families would choose to be more restrictive as a solution to decrease the encounters of this kind of problem.
There are many possible ways of dropping the staggering cases of teenage and unplanned pregnancy but we suppose (as a group) and begin by this simple message: to all lass and lads, let us not be driven with carnal delectations; they only last for a short period of time (call it temporary pleasures). Wherein either if it is a vile thing to do or not, or if it mortifies yourself or not, the burden can cleave within you for a lifetime
References:
One in three births in the Philippines is unplanned. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://census.gov.ph/article/one-three-births-philippines-unplanned
der Hor, C. (2014, May 15). Teenage pregnancy among today's Filipino youth. Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://opinion.inquirer.net/74517/teenage-pregnancy-among-todays-filipino-youth
Medina, B. (2001). The Filipino Family. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.
Data from 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) presented the percentage of births in the Philippines which showed that one in three births (36 percent) in the Philippines was classified as 16 percent as unwanted and the remaining 20 percent as mistimed ( http://census.gov.ph/). Since this was 7 years from now, what more today would unveil since social changes have underwent its course. The advent of social networks which enabled the world to be more exposed, and allowed us to connect easily with others; even literotica that some could eventually get hook to it; the social media which enables us to see what they offer us to see, etc. For a more recent statistics, 2014 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality study found out that “around 14 percent of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 are either pregnant for the first time or are already mothers – more than twice the recorded in 2002.” If this rate of teenage girls becoming mothers persists, how would it affect the Filipino family?
Some of us would probably consider Filipinos as family-oriented which means that most of our decisions and actions are directed and guided on what our family would have to say. In the case of intercourse among teenagers, Filipino families are very restrictive on premarital sex. As Medina (2001) stressed that the Philippine Society is generally and traditionally restrictive “both in terms of the proportion of the population who experience sex outside of marriage, and in terms of the number of sex partners.” Our family is not the only restrictive one, our stratification into a religious institution also represses us to commit such sex crimes. Hence, we adhere to the values and moralities imbued to us by them: the rejection of promiscuity and early sexual relations. Thus, the result that some would call premarital sex as something ignominious to the family; that sometimes it leads to abortion, or causes the pregnant daughter to leave the house. On the other hand, there exist kindhearted families who still accept the unexpected addition to their kin. Child-bearing and nurturing is something arduous: imagine balancing your academic duties in education, family relationships, social life with peers, and, of course, pampering yourself and the baby inside of you. Besides from learning to allocate their time to different responsibilities, a negative side would be hampering their future goals, ambitions, and aspirations. Also, other problems may arise especially if the father of the child leaves her with the all responsibilities, or because of other financial incapability and family-related difficulties. So rather than with impetuous actions, some victims of this early pregnancy consult with their families in regards to decision-making, and some matter of life choices because as stated earlier, we live in a family-oriented manner.
In addition, because a Filipino family is not just a nuclear family but can also be an extended one, the issue of teenage pregnancy among the family members is a big talk, or in other cases it even reaches and becomes the central gossip of the whole neighborhood. Hence, what every member has to say about the pregnancy could affect the pregnant daughter. Since premarital sex incessantly persists, some parents would prevent their children from being too precocious. Parents would be more stringent to their kids. Some would eventually behave their children to be more conservative, and some could assert more control to their youngsters. One of the odds is that families would choose to be more restrictive as a solution to decrease the encounters of this kind of problem.
There are many possible ways of dropping the staggering cases of teenage and unplanned pregnancy but we suppose (as a group) and begin by this simple message: to all lass and lads, let us not be driven with carnal delectations; they only last for a short period of time (call it temporary pleasures). Wherein either if it is a vile thing to do or not, or if it mortifies yourself or not, the burden can cleave within you for a lifetime
References:
One in three births in the Philippines is unplanned. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://census.gov.ph/article/one-three-births-philippines-unplanned
der Hor, C. (2014, May 15). Teenage pregnancy among today's Filipino youth. Retrieved February 19, 2015, from http://opinion.inquirer.net/74517/teenage-pregnancy-among-todays-filipino-youth
Medina, B. (2001). The Filipino Family. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.
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