Baguio execs alarmed on increase of teen mothers

BAGUIO CITY -- Local civil registration authorities raised alarm over the reported more than forty five percent increase in the number of young mothers that gave birth during the first quarter of this year compared to those young mothers who gave birth during the same period last year.
    Local Civil Registrar Luz Perez said during the first quarter this year, there were some 108 babies who were born to mothers aged 15 to 19 years old which is 45.94 percent higher than the 74 babies who were born by mothers of the same age bracket during the same period last year.
    She said the youngest mother who gave birth was age 13 while the oldest was 46.
    For the first quarter of this year, the local civil registrar stipulated that there were 1,379 live births that were recorded, a slight increase of 86 births or 6.65 percent compared to the 1,293 births during the first quarter of 2021.
Perez said there were more males who were born during the first quarter of this year with 701 compared to the number of females which was 678.
    There were some 29 births that were late registered which also increased by 26.09 percent compared to the 23 late registered births during the first quarter of last year, she said.
    In terms of legitimacy, she said 48.08 percent of the reported births are said to be legitimate while 51.92 percent were children born out of wedlock during the first quarter of this year.
    Perez said children born out of wedlock exceeded the number of legitimate live births by 3.84 percent in the first quarter of this year as compared to 1.46 percent in 2021 of the same quarter. – Dexter A. See