In an effort to help pregnant teenage girls and their babies, a first term Quezon City Councilor has asked QC Mayor Herbert Bautista to establish teenage counseling centers in Districts 1,2 and 4 of the city.
Cubao, which is district 3, already has one such center assisting teenagers with similar problems.
In a proposed resolution, Councilor Jesica Castelo Daza of the city’s 4th district, said that these centers will provide counseling services and serve as referral facilities for pregnant teenagers.
Daza said that pregnant teenage girls, are too young to face their pregnancy problems and sometimes have nowhere to turn to for help and advice.
“In some cases, pregnant teens simply hide their pregnancy from everyone and worry too much when they can no longer hide their bulging bellies,” Daza said.
They do these, Daza said because of fear of being unaccepted and the shame that pregnancy brings, and they feel that no one will care to help them on their problems.
The Councilor said that many teenage moms would rather deal with their pregnancy problems on their own rather than involve their family and friends.
She added that with the increasing number of teen pregnancies, there is a need for teenage counseling centers staffed with counselors, advocates and/or social workers who care about the well-being of pregnant teens and their babies.
A counselor can give teenagers insight, provide list of helpful resources and lend moral support or they can serve as mediator between teens and their parents or between the teen mother and the baby’s father.
In 2009, then Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., opened the first center for the young, called the Teen Headquarters in Cubao.
Medical services being offered at the Teen Headquarters are medical and dental consultations, pre and post natal care, breast examinations, gynecological dysfunction treatments, counseling on responsible parenthood, family planning and reproductive health maintenance. Divine/ Maureen Quiñones, PAISO
