CEBU witnessed a surge in recorded births in 2022, with a total of 79,868 live births, reflecting a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year.
The upward trend surpassed the 2021 count of 74,866 births. However, in comparison to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, there was a noticeable decrease of 16 percent, from the 95,539 births recorded then.
This is according to the data published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Cebu Provincial Office on Jan. 31, 2024, showing the latest figure on recorded births in the province.
In 2022, an average of 219 babies were born daily in Cebu, or approximately nine births per hour. Around 51.9 percent (41,483) were males while 48.1 percent (38,385) were females, resulting in a sex ratio at birth of 109 males per 100 females.
Analyzing birth occurrences across the highly urbanized cities (HUCs), Cebu City emerged as the leader, documenting 20,893 births, which constituted 26.2 percent of the total live births in the province.
This was followed by Mandaue City with 8,761 births or 11.0 percent, and Lapu-Lapu City with 7,331 births or 9.2 percent. These three HUCs collectively shared almost half or 46.3 percent of the total registered live births in the entire Cebu.
Examining the usual residence of mothers, Cebu City maintained its position with 15,461 births, representing a 19.4 percent share. Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue City followed with 8,163 or 10.2 percent and 5,752 or 7.2 percent of total births respectively, contributing to more than one-third or 36.9 percent of the total registered live births.
According to Openstat on the PSA website, “place of occurrence” refers to the place where the vital event took place, while usual residence refers to the place where the person habitually or permanently resides.
September stood out as the peak month, recording the highest number of registered births at 7,857, constituting 9.8 percent of the total live births in the province, including in the HUCs.
October and November closely followed with 9.8 percent and 9.4 percent shares, respectively.
In contrast, April witnessed the lowest number of registered live births, with 5,455 births, accounting for a 6.8 percent share.
September also claimed the highest daily average with 22 births per day, while February and April recorded the lowest daily averages at 15 births per day.
In terms of attendants at births, health professionals played a predominant role, overseeing 76,924 live births. Traditional birth attendants followed with 2,324, and 620 births were attended by other attendants.
Notably, 95 out of 100 births occurred in health facilities, including hospitals, birthing clinics and outpatient care centers, while only five percent took place at home.
Top 10
Among cities and municipalities, Carcar City led the way with 100 percent of births attended by health professionals at 5,305 births. Following closely were Danao City and Talisay City, with 4,694 and 4,618 registered live births by place of occurrence, respectively.
Completing the top 10 cities and municipalities in the province with the highest number of live births attended by health professionals were Bogo City (4,244), Toledo City (2,598), Balamban town (2,450), Naga City (1,705), Minglanilla town (1,425), Consolacion town (1,091), and Bantayan town with 1,043.
Meanwhile, the majority of registered births in 2022 were to mothers aged 25-29, constituting 29.2 percent or 23,283 and 29.1 percent or 23,199 by place of occurrence and usual residence, respectively.
The data also said births to adolescent mothers or below 20 years old accounted for 9.5 percent of the total registered live births, with approximately 9.3 percent in 2022 attributed to mothers aged 15-19.
Maria Lourdes Garillos, population program officer for the Commission on Population and Development in Central Visayas (Popcom 7) told SunStar Cebu on Thursday, Feb. 8, that despite the minimal increase in the figures recorded in 2022 from the year prior, it can still be slowed down further.
She added that the decline observed compared to pre-pandemic levels is due to the ongoing implementation of family planning programs. She noted that individuals are now considering economic challenges when deciding to have children.
Fertility dropping
Last year, PSA reported that the total fertility rate (TFR) for women in Central Visayas has dropped to an average of 2.0, continuing a downward trend noted since 1998.
This indicates that women aged 15 to 49 in the region would typically have two children in their lifetime if fertility rates remained stable.
According to the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey of PSA, this rate has consistently decreased since the survey’s initiation in 1993.
At that time, the region had a TFR of 4.4, indicating that a woman would typically give birth to four or more children during her lifetime.
The TFR of the region was 3.7 in 1998, 3.6 in 2003, 3.3 in 2008, 3.2 in 2013 and 2.7 in 2017.