18% of Filipino women want contraceptives – PopCom

MANILA, Philippines — Some 18 percent of Filipino women demand modern contraceptives, highlighting the country’s unmet needs for family planning (FP), the Commission on Population (PopCom) said yesterday.

According to PopCom executive director Juan Antonio Perez III, the poor and less educated women continue to have more children than they want.  

Citing the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey, about 0.3 percent of Filipino women actually use natural family planning methods, with only Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) and Sympto-Thermal method (STM) posting 0.1 percent each. The rest of the natural family planning  methods had less than 0.1 percent. 

Perez said one of the major reasons for unplanned pregnancies among poor women and couples is their lack of access to family planning information and services. 

He said this situation will be addressed by the passage of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law which promotes “universal access to the widest range of FP methods including natural and artificial methods.” 

To increase the use of “modern natural FP” methods, PopCom, along with the Department of Health and local government units, are promoting the “Fertility Awareness-Based Methods,” which are scientifically proven to be effective using the changing body signals indicating their period of fertility. 

Natural family planning  methods include Standard Days Method, Basal Body Temperature, Cervical Mucus Method and STM and LAM.

These methods do not require drugs or devices and can be used by Filipino couples to achieve their desired timing, spacing and number of children. 

On the other hand, modern natural family planning does not include traditional and non-scientific methods such as withdrawal, calendar and rhythm. 

Perez has underscored the roles played by all government agencies, local government units, civil society, media organizations, communities and individuals in managing the country’s popuation. 

“PopCom, DOH, the LGUs and other key institutional partners will continue to expand the choices of Filipino women and couples to plan their families and their lives,” he added.

The statement was issued in line with the celebration of Natural Family Planning Month this May.