MORE women are recorded to have given birth at the local health facilities in Davao City as of the first half of 2018.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, said in her State of the City Address (Soca) on October 2 that as of June 2018 95.4 percent of pregnant women tracked opted to give birth at the city's health facilities. This is higher than the 89.44 percent that was recorded in 2016 and 92.46 percent in 2017.
"The increase is due to the awareness efforts being implemented by our health officers," she said.
Meanwhile, she Duterte-Carpio reported that there is an increased awareness among women when it comes to the use of birth control methods. The prevalence rate among women using contraceptives increased to 61.3 percent this year as compared to only 50.7 percent in 2016.
Women who availed ligation also increased to 226 this year as compared to only 15 in 2016.
Under the women's reproductive health track of the Pagbabago program, the city government seeks to educate women on the available methods of birth control and its accessibility.
“Unplanned number of children will aggravate the status of families already living in poverty,” Duterte-Carpio said.
The project aims to encourage families to plan before having a child so that they could afford and provide the basic needs of their children.