Amid coronavirus lockdown, Philippines sees pregnancy boom and little progress in family planning
- About 2.5 million unplanned pregnancies are expected to be recorded in the country by the end of the year – a 42 per cent increase over 2019
- The lockdown has eroded measures intended to slow the birth rate and left an alarming number of women and girls without access to family planning services
In March, Melody Fernandez only had one thing to look forward to for the month: taking a break from her full-time job as a fast-food worker at a chain restaurant. So she took an eight-hour bus drive from Manila, where she works, to Camarines Sur, the province her sister lives in, for a quick holiday. And then the country was put in lockdown.
“I was only supposed to take a holiday,” the 22-year-old said. “Now, I’m having a baby.”
The extended time in a new environment gave her the opportunity to form new relationships and friendships, despite the quarantine measures. By June, she was pregnant with a new partner. “I really didn’t expect it,” she said.
Fernandez, who will become a mother for the first time, is one of the millions of Filipino women expected to give birth this year and next. According to the University of the Philippine Population Institute (UPPI) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2.5 million unplanned pregnancies are expected to be recorded in the country by the end of the year – a 42 per cent increase compared with last year.
