- What do you think are the reasons of high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
Family planning remains to be an important aspect of life. It provides readiness to families and raises empowerment between and among families. It prevents unwanted pregnancies and promotes maternal and child health (World Health Organization, n.d.). With its big significance, the high rate of unmet family planning needs in our country is greatly alarming.
In the Family Health Survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority in 2012, the rate of unmet need for family planning in 2011 is at 19.3%. In 2017, the figure decreased a little to 17%, which is still a big portion of many married women in the reproductive age. The rate is even higher at the group of unmarried sexually women estimated to be 57%. That means one out of two unmarried women have unmet family planning needs. These statistics are alarming because it mirrors just how far we still have to go in our progress in raising awareness towards reproductive health and family planning.
In my opinion, a lot of factors play a role in the very high rate of unmet family planning needs in our country. Here are these factors:
- Insufficient sexual and family planning education. It is shown in statistics by the Philippine Statistic Authority that unmet family planning needs decrease with education. In the 2011 Family Health Survey, unmet needs are highest at 29.2% for married women with no education and is lowest for women with higher education at 17.6%. Through education, couples will be more aware of the different implications of pregnancy and having a child. They will be more aware of the consequences and effects of their actions and thus will be better equipped in making informed decisions.
- Outdated information of health workers. Nagai et al. (2019) acknowledges that frequently, providers are not always aware of modern contraceptive methods, thus they provide insufficient and/or out-of-date information to their clients. This plays a role in the lessened ability to educate clients who are in need of relevant information so that they can make better and informed decisions. Moreover, this study stated that women are often dissatisfied with their clinic visits because they are unable to talk address their concern of insufficient knowledge about their options.
- Expensive cost of contraception. Casterline et al. (n.d.) mentioned that the cost of contraception is one factor to high rates of unmet needs in family planning in our country. This can evidently be observed with the high costs of contraception that is not always afforded by all sexually active individuals. Despite knowing the need for contraception, many Filipinos are left with no choice but to not purchase a contraceptive because they are not financially able to. This is alarming because despite widespread education about reproductive health and family planning, the government should make policies so that contraception will be accessible and affordable to all.
- Social norm’s discouragement of use of contraception and talks about sexuality. Our country, remaining to be mostly Catholic, still has high prevalence of traditional thinking regarding sex and contraception. The Catholic Church itself considers contraception as intrinsically evil in itself. With this heavy belief imposed by religion, many believers in this faith are discouraged to use contraception. Talks about sex are also not raised within Catholic households. This is alarming because this factor greatly influences decisions of individuals.
Indeed, many factors play a role in the high unmet needs of family planning in our country. Making policies in bettering these circumstances will improve our standing regarding awareness and will overall improve the status of reproductive health and family planning in our country.
2. What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
The practice of family planning is important in preparing families and mothers for child bearing, birth, and having children both physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.
Here are ways that I can suggest to increase the practice of family planning:
- Raising awareness through online materials. Most people today are in social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. With this reality. it is very easy to help spread correct, relevant, and timely information about the importance of family planning. Moreover, even as individuals, we can share posts that explain family planning, its aspects, benefits, and role in improving the lives of future families.
- Incorporating family planning into the curriculum. Education is one way that will help disseminate information about the importance of family planning. Incorporating it to the curriculum will make the youth aware at a young age about the importance of family planning in helping ensure a stable future for one’s won family. It will also open the minds of the youth to the consequences and implications of having children and how this will affect their lives in the future. Moreover, education the youth about family planning will encourage the use of safety methods like contraception and will help them prevent having unwanted pregnancies. It will also help in empowering young women to take control of their own reproductive health and well being.
- Improve accessibility to family planning method. Family planning will be possible through the method of different methods like contraception. It would be for the best interest of our country if our government will design rules and implement policies that will make contraceptives more accessible to people in order for them to translate their knowledge into practice. With contraception, couples will have more control of when they want to have a child. Moreover, contraception helps women take control of their own bodies.
- Destigmatize contraceptive use. Contraception has been a taboo for so long within many traditional Catholics in our country. Catholic families, which compose majority of families in the country, stigmatizes the use of contraception. This is an alarming reality in our country because different religions and cultures still find contraception as a thing that must not be used and talked about, when in reality, contraceptives are helpful in making families achieve stability in the long run through preparation and planning.
References:
Nagai M., Bellizzi S., Murray J., Kitong J., Cabral E.I., & Sobel H.L. (2019). Opportunities lost: Barriers to increasing the use of effective contraception in the Philippines. PLoS ONE 14(7): e0218187. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218187
BBC - Religions - Christianity: Contraception. (2020). BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/contraception_1.shtml#:%7E:text=The%20Roman%20Catholic%20Church%20believes,pill%20or%20condoms%20in%20themselves.