Help desk for teenage mothers in Cebu City eyed

This is the facade of the Cebu City Hall. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa (File Photo)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A councilor in Cebu City has penned a resolution that would cater to the needs of the adolescent mothers in Cebu City — a help desk.

Councilor Jose Lorenzo Abellanosa, in his resolution, wants to establish a teenage counseling center or help desk in Cebu City that will provide and serve as a referral facility for teenage adolescent mothers and their babies.

His resolution was among the agenda in the council’s regular session on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

In July 14, 2023, CDN Digital reported that there were two barangays in Cebu City that the Commission on Population and Development in Central Visayas (Popcom-7) identified as “areas of concern” in teenage pregnancy.

READ: 2 Cebu City barangays log high number of teenage pregnancy cases — POPCOM

Based on their 2022 data, these barangays were Inayawan and Mambaling, according to Maria Lourdes Garillos, Popcom-7’s population program officer.

Meanwhile, in his resolution, Abellanosa cited the report and attributed the case to the lack of information acquisition in terms of comprehensive sexuality education and adolescent reproductive health or sexual violence.

“Adolescent mothers (aged 10-19), especially those who are victims of sexual violence, prone to health complications, face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis, and systematic infections than women aged 20-24 years,” Abellanosa said.

READ: Popcom ‘deeply concerned’ about rise in teen pregnancies

Moreover, he said that babies of adolescent mothers are prone to health complications and face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and severe neonatal condition.

He said the Cebu City government must give adolescent mothers and their babies utmost attention and care.

“Teenage pregnancy, health of adolescent mothers, and the unborn are serious concerns that must be addressed by the government,” he said.