Manila,
Dec. 7 (PIA) - - Estimates from the 2008 National Demographic and
Health Statistics (NDHS) of the National Statistics office (NSO) revealed that
about one in every four or 26 percent of women 15-24 years old have begun
childbearing.
Of the 26 percent of young mothers,
nineteen percent of the births delivered have multiple medical risks due to a
combination of the mother’s age, birth interval and birth order, the NDHS
further revealed.
A related survey conducted in 2011 by the
Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and
Technology (FNRI-DOST) among 1,650 Filipino pregnant women showed that about 40
percent of pregnant teenagers below 15 years old and 36 percent of pregnant
teenagers 15-19 years old are nutritionally-at-risk due to their gestational
age.
The percentage of nutritionally-at-risk
pregnant women was twice higher among those who are less than 20 years old at
36.0 percent than among the 20 years old and up at 23.0 percent, the survey
added.
Underutrition among pregnant teens is a
significant problem because 43.4 percent of them had low weight gain during
pregnancy and more likely to have babies with low birthweight and experience
short lactation, the FNRI survey also disclosed.
According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), stillbirths and death in the first week of life are 50.0 percent higher
among babies born to mothers younger than 20 years old than among babies born
to mothers 20–29 years old.
In addition, rates of premature birth, low
birth weight and asphyxia or difficulty of breathing are higher among babies of
adolescents, all of which increase the chance of early death and future health
problems, the WHO also noted.
The Population Commission (POPCOM) likewise
documented in 2001 that poor nutrition aggravated
by multiple pregnancies and closely-spaced births make younger moms more
susceptible to infectious diseases as well as health complications that may
result to maternal or infant deaths and low birth weight babies.
Maternal depletion or
deficiency has adverse effects on the nutrient composition of breastmilk,
particularly on vitamin A, iodine, and B complex, thereby increasing the risk
of early undernutrition among infants, the POPCOM underscored.