Statistics in the US show that each year, almost one million teenage women-10 percent of all women aged 15-19 and 19 percent of those who have had sexual intercourse - become pregnant and a quarter of teenage mothers have a second child within two years of their first.

According to the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study by the UP Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, 26 percent of Filipino youth nationwide from ages 15 to 25 admitted to having pre-marital sex. What's worse is that 38 percent of our youth are already in a live-in arrangement.

The 1998 National Demographic and Health Survey reveals that 3.6 million Pinoy teenagers got pregnant. The pregnancy was unplanned among 92 percent of the teens, and 78 percent did not even use contraceptives the first time they had sex.

The following reasons are why teen pregnancies should be avoided:

. Risk for malnutrition. Teenage mothers tend to have poor eating habits and are less likely to take the recommended daily multivitamins to maintain adequate nutrition during pregnancy. They are also more likely to smoke, drink, or take drugs during pregnancy, which can cause health problems for the baby.

. Inadequate prenatal care. Teenage mothers are less likely to seek regular prenatal care which is essential for monitoring the growth of the fetus, keeping the mother's weight in check, and advising the mother on nutrition and how she should take care of herself to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

. Risk for abortion. Unplanned pregnancies lead to a higher rate of abortions. In the US, nearly four in 10 teen pregnancies are terminated by abortion. There were about 274,000 abortions among teens in 1996. Although abortion is illegal in the Philippines, it has as even higher abortion rate (25/1000 women) compared to the US where abortion is legal (23/1000 women).

. Risk of fetal deaths. Statistics of the DOH show that fetal deaths are more likely to happen to young mothers and that babies born by them are likely to have low birth weight.

. Cervical Cancer risk. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually-transmitted, wart-forming virus that has been implicated in causing cancer of the cervix. This is the most common cancer in women. Women who are at increased risk for acquiring this are those who engage in sex before 18, have a pregnancy at or are younger than 18, or have had at least five sexual partners, or have had a partner with at least five sexual partners.

. Children born to teenage mothers are at greater risk for abuse and neglect.

. Boys born to teenage mothers are 13 percent more likely to be incarcerated.

. Girls born to teenage mothers are 22 percent more likely to become teenage mothers.

The following are deterrents to teen pregnancy:

. Keep teens at home with an intact family set up. The social institutions that influence them either shield or lure them to sexual risk-taking. Children raised by both parents are less likely to engage in risk taking behavior in their teens. Family supervision and a stable parental union are definitely associated with lesser chances of engaging in premarital sex.

. Parents should keep talking to them. Increased parental communication predicts a decrease in the likelihood of young Filipinos to engage in sexual risk-taking activities.

. Keep them morally and spiritually grounded. Over 80 percent of the 502 teens in the September poll told researchers that religion is important in their lives. Regardless of gender or race, survey results revealed that teens who attend religious services frequently are less likely to have permissive attitudes about sex. Orienting them with the proper values early on helps them from succumbing to peer pressure.

Preventing teen pregnancies requires a concerted effort on the part of the parents, the school and government to ensure the right information is transmitted to the children even during their pre-teen years.