- What do you think are the reasons of high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
We have already recognized and established the need for family planning, yet thousands of Filipino women and millions worldwide still have an unmet need for reliable modern family planning methods. Despite the clear prevalence of a discrepancy between expressed fertility goals and contraceptive practice, the causes and underlying factors of the same persisting problem today have not yet been sought or much delved into. In fact, the most recent study on Filipino women or in the local demographic I could find dates back to 1997. But according to a 2017 demographic and health survey, 49% of unmarried, sexually active women and 17% of married women have an unmet need for family planning in the country (Villamor, 2018).
Casterline, Perez, and Biddlecom (1997) considered four explanations for unmet need: (1) as an artifact of inaccurate measurement of fertility preferences and contraceptive practice; (2) as a reflection of weakly held fertility preferences; (3) as a result of women's perceiving themselves to be at low risk of conceiving; (4) as due to excessive costs of contraception. These were then assessed with the use of quantitative and qualitative data gathered in 1993 from currently married couples in two provinces in the Philippines. Results show that the preference-behavior discrepancy commonly termed as “unmet need” is not an artifact of survey measurement. The most important factors contributing to this discrepancy are “the strength of women's reproductive preferences, husbands' fertility preferences, and the perceived detrimental side effects of contraception.” Surprisingly, inaccessible family planning services seemed to have only a slight bearing in the Philippine setting. Therefore, adjustment and improvement of existing basic services will make women more attentive to other barriers or impediments to contraceptive use and, in doing so, improve their effectiveness in reducing the unmet need for family planning.
Aside from the three aforementioned factors pointed out by Casterline, Perez, and Biddlecom in 1997, I would like to add the following:
- Lack of reproductive and sexual health education – Many Filipino women learn information about their bodies and their reproductive health only when they’re expecting their first child. Some women even obtain information from unreliable sources online (e.g. social media), “girl talk” among peers, or myths passed down from earlier generations. At that point, it is already too late because incorrect beliefs influence applied practices in real life lead to adverse health outcomes. Evidence-based, comprehensive, and inclusive education on women’s reproductive and sexual health must begin at school in order for women to fully exercise their right, make informed choices, and keep themselves and their children healthy. Ideally, health clinics should only come in to supplement that foundational information learned from school.
- Geographic Challenges – In rural communities, the nearest health clinic may be hours or days away. It is often too dangerous, expensive, or time-consuming to seek proper medical care, so many women would rather choose not to venture out. Apart from that, there is a shortage of resources and well-trained healthcare workers, so even if women manage to reach the said clinic, most needs often do not get addressed or given early interventions.
- Social Stigma - As a conservative country with a Christian majority, traditional beliefs still fuel the social stigma that prevails in many Filipinos so they resort to outdated practices such as abstinence until marriage under the false notion that educating youth on family planning encourages early sexual behavior. There are even patriarchal ideologies that encourage couples to have more children than originally planned or wanted since fathering many children is being equated to masculinity while women’s primary role is only as a wife and mother. Such archaic beliefs impede bodily autonomy, limit access to essential health information, and restrain the choices of women and men alike regarding when and how many children they wish to have. In this day and age, continuing to perpetuate these is an outright violation of our freedom that will only bring us further backward as a nation.
- Unsupportive Partners – Since we have lived in a patriarchal society for centuries, women tend to bear the burden of family planning even though parenthood is a shared responsibility between the parents. Only women are usually expected to be present at doctor’s checkups or during their infant’s vaccination sessions (Asan yung partners nila?). We are constantly pressured to be modest and then condemned if we do not fit into unrealistic societal standards that even deciding not to have a child is seemingly tantamount to a sin (when in fact, they are just exercising their freedom of choice over their bodies). And if a woman does decide to have a child, she would have to put her entire life on hold—career and education-wise—while taking on the majority of the household care and raising the child. Meanwhile, men are not held to the same standards because patriarchal and misogynistic ideologies enable them to not assume responsibility when it comes to family planning. They are often unsupportive of women’s right to decide what is best for their bodies. Furthermore, they are inconsiderate of the wants of women in family planning. Some men dictate how many children they want to have or even refuse to wear condoms.
This signifies the dire need to strengthen and fast-track the implementation of critical actions necessary to attain and sustain zero unmet need for family planning for all Filipino households within the framework of the RH Law and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
References:
Casterline, J. B., Perez, A. E., & Biddlecom, A. E. (1997). Factors Underlying Unmet Need for Family Planning in the Philippines. Studies in Family Planning, 28(3), 173–191. https://doi.org/10.2307/2137886
Villamor, M. (2018, May 17). Expanding family planning choices for women in the Philippines. United Nations Population Fund. https://www.unfpa.org/news/expanding-family-planning-choices-women-philippines
2. What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give least 1-2 suggestions.
- Incorporate reproductive and sexual health education (as explained in #1)
- Improve healthcare services in general and ensure universal access to it.
- Promote AND NORMALIZE male involvement in FAMILY PLANNING, RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD, FAMILY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT – Hindi lang dapat ang babae ang sumasalo ng responsibilidad sa pamilya at sa bahay. Let us hold men responsible and accountable!!!