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POPCOM: Number of childbirths in 2020 is lowest in 34 years


The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) saw a significant drop in the number of births in 2020 amid the pandemic.

POPCOM said there were just 1,516,042 million registered births in the country in 2020 — the lowest number registered since 1986, when only 1,493,995 Filipinos were born, a preliminary report of the Philippine Statistics Authority in June 2021 said.

In a press statement, POPCOM said the 2020 numbers are comparable to the numbers of 1986, nearly three and a half decades ago.

2020 is also lower than 2019's number by more than 157,881, posting a decrease in births by 9.43% year-on-year.

Aside from childbirth, the Philippines in 2020 also saw a drop in the number of marriages in the last 20 years. Only 240,183 couples tied the knot, 44% fewer than in 2019 when 431,972 couples got married.

Undersecretary for Population and Development (POPDEV) Juan Antonio Perez III, MD, MPH said the decline in 2020 birthrate is caused by the combined impacts of "fewer marriages, women delaying pregnancies during the pandemic, and the increase in women using modern family planning methods to prevent unplanned pregnancies."

Perez said this is because they are "well-aware of the possible hardships and inconveniences in securing medical, as well as family planning services, since the pandemic has severely impeded health-care systems.”

However, the press statement said Perez is pleased with the outcome of family planning services in the country. In 2020, it had an addition of 400,00 users nationwide, which resulted to more than 8 million protected Filipino men, women, and couples.

Meanwhile, a November 2020 Social Weather Stations' survey cited that the majority of Filipino women disclosed major concerns on unintended or unplanned pregnancies during the pandemic's progression.

The SWS survey says women are anxious about the effects of COVID-19 on their families, well-being,  their unborn children, and the overall condition of the country.

Perez also projects that the slowing trend of marriages, pregnancies, and childbirth will likely continue in 2021.

"The number of those who gave birth between January and March 2021 were at 268,000, compared with the normal trend of 350,000. If that continues, we can see an even smaller addition to the population by year-end," he said, noting possible delays in the registry of births in the provinces given the restrictions of the pandemic.

Aside from these factors, the POPCOM chief also disclosed that the country's fertility rate is currently at 2.5 per woman from a high of 6 in the 1960s.

“Filipinos will eventually learn to live with COVID-19. As such, we may see increased births after the era of Covid, with family planning helping couples avoid unplanned pregnancies, unlike in the late 1940s and 1950s when there was no family planning program," Perez said.

Perez said POPCOM will "devote a significant amount of its energies on young people who are now living together, and are having difficulty in acquiring family planning services, under its recent mandate to address the root causes of teen pregnancy,"

He also noted how family planning is just as vital in a health crisis, adding "Alleviating poverty and the ability to plan one’s life should go together.” — LA, GMA News

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