The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is strengthening its psychosocial interventions for teenage mothers and their families under “ProtecTEEN,” the agency’s strategy that strives to address the rising number of adolescent pregnancies in the country.

In a report released by the Commission on Population and Development (CPD), a total of 142,276 adolescent mothers were recorded to have given birth in the Philippines for the year 2023.

While the 2023 data on teenage pregnancies is less compared to the 150,148 cases in 2022, the CPD noted an alarming hike in the number of very young adolescent mothers under 15 years old.

From a total of 2,411 below 15 years of age who gave birth in 2019, the number has significantly increased with 3,343 pregnancies recorded in 2023.

Faced with the alarming numbers of teenage pregnancies, the DSWD has made a timely action to pilot test the ProtecTEEN in Malaybalay, Bukidnon and Antipolo City from 2022 to 2023.

“In 2024, the ProtecTEEN and its menu of services were expanded to select cities and municipalities across all regions nationwide. We have, so far, served over 870 adolescent mothers,” Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, the DSWD spokesperson, said on Saturday (February 8).

ProtecTEEN stands for Psychosocial Support and Other Interventions for Adolescent Mothers and their Families Project. It is the DSWD’s response to Executive Order 141, series of 2021, which declares the implementation of measures to address the root causes of the rising number of teenage pregnancies a ‘national priority.’

The ProtecTEEN focuses on the need to address the multi-faceted challenges adolescent mothers face and eventually help them get through their circumstances and become productive members of society.

Asst. Secretary Dumlao said this project particularly seeks to curb cases of repeated teenage pregnancies, which can cause a ripple effect and adversely affect the socioeconomic conditions of teen mothers and their families.

“The main goal of Psychosocial Support and Other Interventions for Adolescent Mothers and their Families Project or ProtecTEEN is to protect and promote the rights and well-being of adolescent mothers, their spouses or partners, and their families, as well as to further empower them in their civic efficiency as part of nation-building and development,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.

Among the DSWD interventions provided to these beneficiaries are family healing sessions; family case management; employment, livelihood and educational assistance; capability building activities; and referrals to other government agencies or private organizations.

Curbing risks tied to teenage pregnancy

Asst. Secretary Dumlao said unplanned and early pregnancy is often plagued with serious consequences, including increased risks for poor health outcomes for both mother and child, and disrupted education and employability.

The DSWD spokesperson explained that these are the risks. alongside cases of repeated teenage pregnancies, that the ProtecTEEN seeks to mitigate through its total-family approach.

Under this project, the agency hopes that more ‘helping hands’ are enlisted to ensure that an adolescent mother’s situation will not hinder her right to education, access to livelihood opportunities once she reaches the right age and diminish her chance to straighten out her bad decisions.

“The idea here is we hope to break off normalization of teenage pregnancy — if there are any, especially among teen moms and the household they are in. From here, we stir up small but needed changes, in terms of their behavior and mindset toward the issue and its broader impact on one’s life,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.

The ProtecTEEN project is also one of the proactive responses of the DSWD following the CPD’s call to take a stronger and broader approach to the issue of teenage pregnancy, which also urged intensified age-and development and culturally-sensitive comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).

“Multidimensional issues require equally broad interventions. It is because of this that we ensure we are not falling short in educating our beneficiaries of available reproductive health options,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.

“The health sector, through their community health center personnel, has been with us to bring these to the ground since the ProtecTEEN’s pilot-testing and we hope to secure more collaborations as we implement and seek to strengthen this significant initiative,” the DSWD spokesperson pointed out. (LSJ)