1. What do you think are the reasons for the high unmet need of FP in the Philippines?
Having an unmet need for family planning refers to women who are capable of bearing a child, are sexually active, and do not want more children or want to postpone the next child but are not using any form of contraception. In 2017, it was discovered that 17% of married women of reproductive age have unmet needs for family planning, with the demand met by modern methods estimated to be 57%. Unmet needs rise to 49% among unmarried sexually active women, while demand met by modern methods reduces to 22%. Because of the low contraceptive met need, 68% of unwanted births occur in women who do not use any form of contraception and 24% in those who use traditional methods (Nagai, 2019).
With this, I believe that lack of education plays a role in having an unmet need for FP in the Philippines. A lot of women are not aware of the different family planning methods available to them, and even if they are, some still do not know the difference among these methods. Moreover, I think that unmet needs have something to do with affordability since we know that not all options are easily bought by the majority of women of childbearing age.
On the other hand, even if some women are knowledgeable, using family planning methods may give them inappropriate health concerns, such as weight loss, chemical toxicity due to prolonged use, excessive bleeding, and fears. Restricted implementation due to conservatism and religion may also be a factor as to why there is a high unmet need for FP.
2. What are ways you can suggest to increase the practice of FP in the country? Give at least 1-2 suggestions.
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Health teaching. Reach out to the far-flung areas that do not have access to correct information when it comes to family planning. Explain the health risks of bearing another child after 4 successful pregnancies. Explain how this won’t also maintain the mother’s health but also sustain the baby’s fundamental needs during their first 1000 days.
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Make healthcare accessible. Fund the healthcare sector so that women will not have to resort to illegal means should they decide to postpone their pregnancy, since not everyone can afford to acquire proper treatment.
REFERENCES:
Nagai, M. (2019, July 25). Opportunities lost: Barriers to increasing the use of effective contraception in the Philippines. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0218187