The Unseen Cost Of Philippines' Pandemic Baby Boom | Undercover Asia | CNA Documentary 

The first problem is putting the responsibility of birth control solely on the women when they're only half of the equation.

NOT ONE WORD ABOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FATHERS TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR CHILD.

Have been watching this for 10 mins and I was like, why can't men stop having sex temporarily when they don' t have birth pills?. So angry they risk their wife's health and create an unwanted child.

instead of just blaming it on the pandemic, the men should grow some balls & accept the fact they are messing up!! They should be held accountable! Also the women are giving such stupid "out of boredom" reason is beyond me!!!

Age of consent in the Philippines has been 12 years until recently changed to by Duterte to 16 years. Coupled with lack of educational opportunities, low or no income, and forced marriages it is a disaster. Religion plays a large part in prohibiting abortions and encouraging child marriages. Duterte has the guts to do the right thing. I have the guts to say Religion has lost its meaning and purpose along the way.

Education and awareness is the solution to this problem. It's tragic that this is happening as information has never been so readily available.

The fact is this country is predominantly Catholic. The Catholic religion has a lot of responsibility when it comes to unwanted pregnancy Any bith control is frowned upon even for married menopausal women when there is a danger to life of the mother & baby.

5 minute joy turned into lifetime of burden

People who are against family planning should spend their lives living in the squatter areas and seehpw unfair it is to dictate what they should do with their bodies.

Great content. Also, one factor why birthrate has increased among teenagers during the pandemic and even before the pandemic is due to sex abuse. This type of abuse sometimes happens at home (domestic). Meaning the perpetrator is either an immediate family member or a relative and sometimes a neighbor. Someone she knows personally.

this is why the ChildFree movement exist too. it's frustrating how many people call us childfree people selfish, it's frustrating when people bingo us to have kids. it's even more frustrating that a heavily religious countries like our philippines look down on not having kids or at least birth control

this is why sex education should be teach in schools so that the earlier they know the better to avoid unwanted pregnancy also abortion should be legal

No mention of the responsibility of the men in this story.

These poor girls bearing child after child and these little babies being labelled “unwanted” even before their birth, it’s so heartbreaking.

Am Ugandan and we have the same problem. Am a warrior ready to ensure every woman and man gets access to contraceptives of their choice

It wasn't just lack of condoms, it's a huge problem there. People do not go to school and have no idea about family planning or pregnancy prevention

That last one at the end made me mad.. after the 9th child that’s when she starts thinking of stopping and family planning. Blame both parents not just the mom. All these unplanned children brought into this world only to suffer because of irresponsible adults is frustrating 😡

Not one mention of forced pregnancies. Women and girls have to carry out pregnancies in cases of r8p and incest in the PI. In male dominated societies complaining about too many children/ unwanted children fall HARD on deaf ears. Some women don’t want to be mothers and/or don’t have the capacity to be good parents. Forcing all women to go through with pregnancy, forces those women to discard their children. Men who control the country have the power to change it, but again it falls on deaf ears.

I'm only 36 minutes in but I've yet to hear from this documentary about the age of consent in the Philippines is only 12 hence why so many teens are pregnant with or without a lock down. Philippines suffers from unwanted pregnancy from way more than a lock down. Not sure we're being given the entire story here

I'm a Filipina and when I was in my teens, I was made to believe by the community that the end goal of life is to get married and have children. I'm in my 30s now, single and child free.

My sympathy is for the poor babies coz they aren't aware that they are being sold. What future holds for them when they fall into the wrong hands specifically abusive predators.

Men control pregnancy better by not being sloppy and promiscuous and don't release your sperm. Both bear responsibility

8 Kids and decided to stop!!!!!!!!!!!, how about after one when you are in poverty , Self inflicted poverty

I'm a girl I'm from Indonesia and I work in the Philippines,, I hope the Philippine government pays more attention to these children ❤️❤️

having 2 or 3 children is more than enough

Personal responsibility is one area that seems not to be explored.

for those pondering if the concept and availability of "Morning After Pills" are available in the Philippines at average daily medical stores, They are not sold easily to the public. Simply, lack of protective options from the aftermaths of unprotected sex are not as available for women. Unlike condoms for men which had only been available during the last 5+ years ago. But bear in mind that the Catholic Trachings are still dominant in an unhealthy dose

Watching this educating documentary, I'm from Kenya, I love Phillipine, I like watching documentaries for this country, the issue being addressed in this documentary it's a global issue affecting developing countries due to ignorance despite knowing the consequences of teenage pregnancies

Well if the church interferes in the politics in the Philippines this is what will happen ,in fact it's been happening for more than 10 years,I know at first hand living there,and I must say one thing disgusts me more with many foreigners also getting pinay girls pregnant and completely failing their duty as a parent to support the child,on the other hand they the young population need more education and consequences having children without support and not having a stable job to support that child.

Im a Filipino and this is our reality. Those who are poor are the ones who have the audacity to bring 5 or more childrens due to their ignorance, lack of self awareness and being illiterate. Its too late for us but still, having a good knowledge about family planning, with the help of contraceptives might help these problems and I hope that the leaders will stop listening to the church and decide for their people, and not for their religion. We need new kinds of politicians, not just from the President but even in the barangay levels, those who believe in changes and not stuck to the old ways.

Thank you for shining an updated light on this issue. This is tragic

Meanwhile in Thailand the government helps to pay everything for newborn even free money until the age is 6 years old but doesn't help anything because people think baby is long term burden in this such a difficult time.

More needs to be done regarding sexual health, sexual education, and contraception. Abortion may be frowned upon to some but bringing a life and selling the baby for 196$ is even more immoral!!! Bringing a baby into stricken poverty and jeopardizing their health is also immoral. 😠😫

These women didn't get themselves pregnant alone. Men need to back tf off!

How during a total lockdown did these kids have access to each other to have sex? Where are their parents? Are they being blamed at all? This whole episode has blown my mind. This is 🤬unbelievable.

I’m a Filipino and I feel saddened by the fact that people who are really poor have more Children due to their ignorance. And the burden will pass to that Child. It’s also ridiculous that out of boredom reason You would get pregnant. I’m not judging in fact I salute and respect them for not aborting the baby but I hope government would take action to educate the poor and young women and men.

Boredom = pregnancy 😒😒😒😒😒 High AF

Responsibility goes both ways men and women…should know better, your both adults…your both mature enough to know what’s wrong and right…don’t blame the government…you should blame your own self for being naive..your bringing a child into this world without thinking of the consequences…also parents for those who are minors…where’s the parental guidance?

Every child deserves a parent but not every parent deserves a child.🤦‍♂️

Utterly irresponsibility no other worths for it. Sadly the innocent children have to pay the price for such irresponsibility and stupidity.

Having baby is very huge responsibility & financial burden. You have to sacrifice your life to keep them alive. If you are not ready.. You are gonna suffer for the entire life. Life is too short to create unwanted & unnecessary burden. People have to think the heavy risk of getting pregnant before having sex. Women even can die during the labour. This is not insignificant. If you want to have sex.. You have to control your action..

I’m 28 and my wife is 27. We don’t have kids yet (which we do) because we’re not financially ready yet. We’re almost there but I wouldn’t want to bring a child IF I can’t afford it. Wish these ppl would realize that 😢

15's not old enough for contraceptives, but old enough to raise a child, haiyaa.

We need to change Philippine culture, by force

It was so interesting to their thought, especially for the teenagers. Why they got pregnant because they had more free time during lockdown?! Right as the other comments, education is the solution of this problem.

And now Thailand is suffering a "birth dearth," with national fertility below replacement level. It is an aging society that is quickly coming to resemble Japan.

religion sure did a number on that poor country and it future, shame, real shame

while majority of countries have decreased fertility statistics during pandemic because everybody is losing job and not enough money to pay bills ironically in philippines there is a baby boom. well, personal responsibilities and maturity seems lacking in our country because the system and dynamics of philippine culture allows it.

These women are suffering no woman should be forced to birth a baby they don't want. Who will fight for them ?

The Philippines has a somewhat causal attitude to pregnancy out of marriage (54% of babies are born out of a marriage), the good news is the fertility rate is slowly reducing (currently 2.53).

They live in such tight spaces with tons of their kids and they still have the audacity to what? Have sex? My goodness. Also if they insist so much on that logic that there's nothing to do so they have sex, well, there's tons of stuff you can do sexually that can actually not lead to pregnancy anyway. They're just too lazy like that.

when the young girl said if it didn't happen covid I wouldn't be pregnant, I was like WHAT?!? Wasn't everyone at home during the lockdown? How can they do it? asjskjzkk raising children is not easy and requires quite a lot of money😬 I think sex education and the environment you live in have a big influence

Priests interferring with local politics should spend time in teaching... If they don't want the gov't to allow abortion, then they must also teach the people to have high moral standards to avoid teenage and unwanted pregnancy.

May God bless these women and these young girls because you really never know what they have been to have these unwanted pregnancies

It's already old, but still I have to say, kudos to the young mom and dad, him dropping out for her and the baby at the tender age of 17? That is such a huge sacrifice and sense of responsibilty more than many men twice his age have. And her deciding to continue to study while also caring for the girl at 15 when many girls her age can't even deal with only school. God bless them. I hope they pulled through and got to build good lives and be happy.

The Filipino people are very religious, and the Catholic Church tells them that family planning such as using birth control, is a “ sin”! This plays a big role in over population in the Philippines!

I see, Philippines and the other ASEAN countries seems to be your favorite topics. Are there no shocking news in Singapore that we should know of?

I am Sorry. Abortion is not allowed but having sex at 15 is ok?

People wouldn’t need birth control if selfish and unrespectful men would pull out before they come.

Those babies are so beautiful, downright gorgeous. I never wanted to have children of my own, knowing there are so many 'unwanted' children in the world - seemed cruel to produce more when there are already so many waiting for loving parents. I'm being honest here, if I had enough money to raise them on my own, I wouldn't hesitate to adopt (buy) one right now. But the right thing to do would be to sponsor the mothers, separating them from their babies would be heartless, it's clear most of them are just too poor and desperate.

It's hard to argue that humans are any different from animals.

Mandatory vasectomies could be a solution

This is 2022 for god sake. Still do not know how to practice birth controls. Excuses, excuses.

15 yrs old and sexually active? Where are the parents?

What the heck is wrong with these people blaming the government for not being able to give them contraceptives as the reason for them getting pregnant? Like what?? These people aren't taking responsibility over their lives and actions. What a shame. With education or not, this is like basic. Be responsible over your life.

Nah we gotta hold these people accountable. Covid didn't cause this.

Very sad about this people. But some of them I don’t understand them as I’m a married man and my miss don’t use pills we just be careful. There is no need to blame the pandemic we all went through that and came out with out a baby if you don’t know what you doing don’t do it.

I got pregnant Nov 2019 and gave birth to my daughter Aug 2020 during pandemic. I delivered via CS and its expensive with all the additional requirement, swab test costs me 9k and charges for PPE for every staff that is present in the OR since I gave birth in a Private hospital in Makati. As years past, living started to be more and more expensive. The 3 of us still have quite a comfortable life, still have some extra for a little luxury. If I get pregnant again, that will just ruin everything. I do not want to be poor again. We are through that.

Please do not blame the pandemic for your pregnancy

In such poverty, how does one even have the desire to engage in sexual activity?! And knowing they can’t feed their children, how are they not scared to death of bringing another life into the world? They act as if there is absolutely no way to control the situation….it just happens. I am married and have never used contraceptives in my life and managed to not get pregnant when I did not want to. This is so angering…these poor kids!

my heart breaks for these poor girls, they have no one to protect them.

As a mother my soul breaks for the children

The problem with the Philippines is that Filipinos still use the old ways of how they think of having children. Due to being a predominantly Christian country, Filipinos don't use contraceptives and abortion and divorce are illegal there. They think that having a baby is a blessing, and they think it should stay that way. They don't wanna end up like Europe which is also majority Christian but baby-making is almost nonexistent.

Sex education & family planning must be taught in schools. Also families must do this to stop teenage & unwanted pregnancies. The poor & uneducated must stop having babies. They must know it’s their responsibility to do everything possible to give a child a good life. Without education & training a child will struggle to get a good job when he/she grows up. This means that the child will have to struggle for 70 years to survive (if he/she lives that long). It is sad that this situation happens to people of low socioeconomic background all over the world. Men & women must control their urge to have sex.

I don't really get what these Filipinos are thinking. If you want to give your kids enough resources, love and time to develop into educated, well-balanced adults, you can only have 2, maximum 3 kids.

the focus is pinned on women and they efforts they put into preventing pregnancies. what about the men? sex education should be extended to the men as well, after all, sperm is needed for impregnation. it is so unfair that women are victimised and have long lasting effects of a pregnancy, while the men can CHOOSE to stay and raise the child. props to the fathers who do take responsibility, especially the teenager.

The men are guilty !

If you have 10 kids and expect sympathy, you get none 😂

Some parts of the comment section is to cry about. In every case of sexual intercourse, it's the responsibility of ALL ppl involved to protect themselves and the other from STD's and/or unwanted pregnancy.

this is what the catholic church wanted

Before you bring another child into the world, ask yourself , are you condemning this child to a life of poverty? Is this what you want for your child? I have no patience with people who live with the motto "God will provide" or "it's God's will". No . Do not blame God for the human's fault.

Having sex and having babies does not require so much education. That is basic knowledge. Everybody knows if you do sex that is the possible result having a baby. Some people are just irresponsible. I hate them saying, we are poor. And I hate to say, you did that to yourself having a lot of babies when you know you don’t have enough means. That’s reality.

It took eight for them to decide to stop? I am sure they are not the only couples with the same mentality who also cannot afford the children they continue to have.

oh my heart. ❤ I was born in manila in the 80’s and was adopted to an American family.

I have got sooo many questions 1. How many women lost their lives because of abortion 2. How is their government helping them during this pandemic period because if they are not helping in anyway then they should at least ease down the lockdown 3. You say lack of family planning isn't the responsibility of the government to make sure these are available everywhere and anytime, and why don't they give the women the female condoms. 4. Men that make these women pregnant aren't they supposed to sit down with their wives and plan l would really love to here their side of the story on what is happening. 5. For the medical workers they should be allowed back into the maternity wards to help these women 6. Catholic church l do love you but this mentality is sooo old if you as a church won't help take care of these children born unplanned they you have no say over these womens lives so do better. 6. As a government they should have planned and thought better about what they were about to do during the pandemic, my country we had partial lockdown where you go home early but still can work during the day. 7. What are the organizations homes and the like that helping these families there is sooo much that is not being done to help these families. 8. Sex education should be taken over by all stake holders including this catholic church, DO BETTER AS A CHURCH and yes these women should receive family planning at all times and for the men there is a time when you have to of the kids that you and if you can provide for them before adding another one.

You know what's funny and ironic thing during this pandemic?. Hundreds or people died yet hundreds of babies are being born. Practice safe sex to avoid pregnancy and transmitted diseases.

If sexually active minors aren't allowed to buy pills how they will stop them from getting pregnant. The pharmacist should've recommend condom instead. Know why teens refrained to ask the elders? Because they will just get shamed and blamed.

the planet is OVERPOPULATED

Im worrying about the young mother's health and the infants idk how they will get nutritious food because of poverty,sex education must be strictly given to them .And I appreciate that boy who took responsibility to his girl and the child 👏and its rare.

Free, and easy access to safe abortion is SO important. On top of that good sex education, understanding how pregnancy happens (yes, sex but both men and women understanding the entire menstrual cycle and ovulation etc. is integral) It's the ONLY way to reduce unwanted and teen pregnancy. And STOP PUSHING RELIGION!

I feel very bad because their children and babies have no idea what’s going on.

How hard is it to pull out?

what about condoms or the pull out game… not that the pull out game works but it buys you luck. I never understood why birth control isn’t more available even vasectomies. Places like planned parenthood teach you family planning but they always get a bad rep for abortions. People forget they provide education, family planning, and sexual health care

People who keep saying- stop having sex need to wake up and smell reality 😬 if that worked - there would be no issue to begin with. But glaringly there are babies born so there is lots of sex happening

My biological mother is from a province in Davao and had me when she was a teenager with a man in his 30's. She gave me away and shortly had another baby a year later and two other kids a few years after. She kept the rest of them but me. Her giving me away was a blessing bc I was adopted into an amazingly imperfect family. I share this because I was frustrated with my birth mom with her reckless behavior and having multiple children with multiple fathers. I'm sure if they had offered free birth control back in the 90s maybe she could've made better decisions?

Truly a third world problem. Meanwhile in many first world countries, population are falling and govt has to dangle rewards and incentives to get people to populate.

At the age of 30, I'm already married but I'm hesitant to have a child. It's expensive to rear a child, especially the high inflation rate nowadays. Although we are financially stable, we can't afford to hire a babysitter. Also, I'm not mentally and emotionally ready to take care of a baby.

Sex being a taboo topic for Filipino's never helps. Those people specially the close-minded elders should reevaluate their traditional beliefs whether it is doing anything good at all for the current and future generations.

What confuses me is how come since the sixties when birth control has become more prominent around the world, why have unwed pregnancies also become more prevalent during this same period.

Yeah, this is really true. However, every country has a problems. The most important thing is the government. Good governance, makes the difference between progress and poverty. We, Filipinos are tested in tough times.. We can make progress in difficult situation.