Determinants affecting the upward trend of Teenage Pregnancy

(SECTION 1) Teenage Pregnancy is rapidly increasing worldwide, and it has become an

international issue that needs immediate public health solutions. Many countries have been addressing

this phenomenon to lessen the problems and complications of maternal adolescent childbearing,

especially in third-world countries. In fact, according to Nortajuddin, 2021, “Every year, approximately

12 million girls aged between 15 to 19 years, and at least 777,000 girls under 15 years, give birth in

developing regions of the world”. In 2016, the Philippines leads the charts with the highest number of

Teenage Pregnancies across Asia (UNFPA, 2020), making it a very serious socio-economic threat to the

country. In a survey done by the Philippine National Demographic and Health (NDHS), 2017, they noted

that:

“9% of Filipino women aged 15-19 have begun childbearing: 7% are already mothers and an

additional 2% are pregnant with their first child. Young women from Davao are most likely to be

mothers or pregnant (18% have begun childbearing). The percentage of young women who have

begun childbearing is lower in urban areas than in rural areas (7% versus 10%)”.

The Philippines Adolescent Fertility Rate was as high as 55 births per 1000 women aged 15–19 in 2018

compared to the Global Adolescent Fertility Rate, which was 42 births per 1000 women on the same year

(Tabei et al, 2021). Meaning Philippines is more prone to adolescent childbearing than any other country

in the world. Moreover, according to an article by Nortajuddin, 2021, pregnancies among the 10-14-year-

old doubled from 1,000 pregnancies in 2007 to 2,200 in 2018. And take note that programs have already

been made to address this issue, but answers were not yet been found up until now. Social analysts and

researchers have already enumerated some of the reasons why pregnacies among adolescents have been

increasing in spite of interventions from government health agencies and NGOs however these studies

were done internationally and only little to few were done in the Philippines. As a result, this has imposed

a big problem towards the achievement of Sustainable Developmental Goals for the past years. /////////
 (SECTION 2) During this Covid-19 Pandemic, the Philippines had 3.9 million cases of COVID-

positive patients with nearly 57,000 deaths to date. As of September 21, the country has been reporting

over 27,000 active cases daily. Hence, affecting the whole socio-economic sector nationwide.

Employment, livelihood, and other business were interrupted by the surge of cases in the country. In a

report by Save the Children 2020, titled, “How COVID-19 is putting progress in peril”,

The country’s administration down to the local government units seemed to resort to the most

convenient decision where the usual transactions and functions would still retain its efficiency and

quality. That includes the education system of the country shifting from the normal routine of teaching to

online learning. At first, it seemed to be easy to hold classes online thinking that it would be the best

option for all to be safe from the transmission of the virus. But later on, the different consequences of this

type of learning were being felt by the school administration, the teachers, and most especially the

students. One study stated that the pandemic related to COVID-19 forced universities to switch their

entire instructional apparatus to one of online delivery overnight. Universities have adopted various

measures in order to limit the spread of virus. Students were encouraged to communicate with these

departments and teachers solely by email or by telephone (Blahušiaková et al., 2021).

The repercussions of this sudden shift in the education system were unexpected. Students

complain from different issues and concerns regarding their classes, outputs, motivation, mental health

and well-being, internet connection, and even about the availability of the technologies needed. The

Philippines being a third world country was not able to cope easily. This paper aims to present the

challenges of students in the Philippines since the beginning of the pandemic. Most of the studies

published were from foreign countries, but almost all were equally related to the current situation in the

Philippines.

Perhaps, one of the challenges of the students is the establishment of new routines and adapting to

the new environment. Classes being held online means there will be no social interaction and that classes
would only meet virtually. This also means that the students would adjust to something they are not used

to such as using the new medium in learning.

Sangster et al. (2020) stated that “the switch from the attendance form of education into the

online form was difficult for both teachers and students” (p. 204). It was absolutely a new situation,

which they had to deal with. Everyone was stretched beyond their comfort zone by the switch to online-

only: faculty, students, administrative staff, support staff, and university management. Furthermore, the

new environment of being home to study raises difficulties such that students cannot find a quiet place

where they can focus and study their lessons.

A study in Europe by Scarpellini et al. (2021) added that children who live in families with poor

economic conditions were unable to take part in online learning because of the absence of an internet

connection or technological devices such as computers, and because of a lack of support in accessing the

lessons. This statement is also applicable in the Philippines when Santos (2020) said:

For some, it may present difficulty to purchase a facilitative learning device to easily tune in to

online classes and immediately turn in assignments in the online system. Despite the efforts to

make education accessible for all, many difficulties are still confronting Filipino university

students in the practice of distance education. (p 147)

Alvarez (2020) further noted that complicating this picture even is the fact that, not every student can

provide and adapt to the rapid advances of technology in today’s digital age especially for developing

countries like the Philippines in which education is plagued by problems even before the pandemic.

Related to the concern of adapting to new routines arises another one regarding to internet

connection. While internet connection and internet access are integral parts of online learning, these are

not always available to many students. Thus, “impaired internet connectivity negatively impacted

learners’ motivation, which, in turn, impacted their participation and success in online learning” (Li &

Irby, 2008, p. 208).

health issues and concerns. To date, there are no studies that shows the statistics of how mental health

issues have gotten worse since the start of the pandemic. Nevertheless, this paper aims to somehow

support the fact that mental health issues are rampant and not to be taken for granted.

Tandon (2020) highlighted that “mental health illnesses relating to COVID-19 such as

depression, stress, and anxiety negatively affected the students’ learning motivation. While physical

distancing protocols arise, it is not easy as it was to maintain social relationships with classmates, friends,

and even teachers” (p. 154). Sundarasen et al. (2020) referred this to a “social recession”. Therefore, even

the students’ emotional support was affected. Psychology says that social interaction and belongingness

is a need of humans and this pandemic proved how important other people are in order for one to function

well.

Several studies state that depression is a factor in college students that it affects their academic

performance and even the overall quality of life. Factors such as time load, misfits, recurring economic

failures, inadequacy of prior knowledge to address courses, among others maximize conditions for

depressive pathologies to manifest at various levels (Bruffaerts et al., 2018; Gajana & Minchekar, 2018;

Ngasa et al., 2017; De Luca et al., 2016).

The already-challenged state of mental well-being of Filipino children has been worsened by the

pandemic and the lack of good mental health programs by the government. While the awareness for

mental health has increased, this is still something that the authorities and even the school administration

must look into deeper. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2019) emphasizes the relevance of

adolescent mental health care, urging the development of social and emotional habits that contribute to

mental well-being, including sleep patterns, sports practice, resilience, emotional intelligence among

others.

Zhu et al. (2020) stated that mental stress represents the main environmental risk factor for

psychiatric illnesses and a state of prolonged sustained stress can increase the propensity to depression
and other mental disorders. Eaton & Turner (2020) further explained that stress during examinations is

acknowledged, but it seems that online learning adds a different stress level far beyond what is normally

experienced by students from the normal face-to-face learning.

Mental health struggles are even more concerning to those whose family members or friends have

been infected by COVID-19, and worse those whose loved ones died. To these students, their mental

health suffers doubly: one from the stress that normal learning gives and another from seeing a loved one

sick and in pain. Ahmed et al. (2020) said that infection or death of family and friends could worsen the

overall mental health well-being of an individual. Overwhelming deep emotional traumas and socio-

economic stressors brought about by the pandemic and the lockdowns have even led the more vulnerable

people to commit suicide.

It is indeed obvious that the students’ challenges are real. Considering the present situation in the

Philippines, online/distance learning is still the best alternative. With this, the school administration and

leaders are given the responsibility to attend to the needs of the students in the best way possible, to give

their best teaching experience despite the pandemic, and to still make the online classroom a healthy

atmosphere for both the students and teachers. It would also be best if the school would consider initiating

effective and convenient mental health programs so that somehow, students will still be able to be the best

version of themselves. This pandemic might not end any time soon but with proper and efficient

programs, it is still possible to help lessen the load of each one.