As part of a strengthened initiative aimed at addressing the ongoing teenage pregnancy crisis in the country, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has ramped up its efforts to support adolescent mothers.

With teenage pregnancies remaining a significant national concern, DSWD underscored the importance of providing vital resources—including education, healthcare, and social services—to empower young mothers and ensure the well-being of both them and their children.

In a statement on Feb. 6, DSWD said it is strengthening its services for adolescent mothers to ensure their psychosocial well-being as they assume their parental roles at a very young age.

ProtecTEEN

Project Development Officer (PDO) Diane Gianan of the DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau (STB) explained that the department has embarked on the project “ProtecTEEN.”

The project, DSWD said, aims to contribute to various government initiatives that help prevent teenage pregnancy and minimize the vulnerabilities of adolescent mothers.

“The ProtecTEEN project is the agency’s intervention strategy that strives to address the issue of teenage pregnancy,” Gianan said.

“It is the only project in the country that provides a comprehensive package of services for adolescent mothers and their families,” she added.

Launched as a pilot program in 2023 and expanded in 2024, ProtecTEEN stands for the Psychosocial Support and Other Interventions for Adolescent Mothers and Their Families Project.

The DSWD's response to Executive Order No. 141, series of 2021, which designates addressing the root causes of the rising teenage pregnancy rate as a "national priority," is the ProtecTEEN initiative.

DSWD said the “ProtecTEEN” initiative is a psychosocial-centered support that focuses on addressing the multi-faceted challenges adolescent mothers face and eventually helping them navigate their circumstances and become productive members of society.

“Yung mga adolescent mothers natin, pag nagbibigay na sila ng buhay sa mga bata, madalas hindi na nila ma-juggle yung responsibility bilang nanay, bilang anak, bilang estudyante, so yun po yung aspetong tinutugunan natin (Our adolescent mothers, when they give life to their children, often struggle to juggle the responsibilities of being a mother, a daughter, and a student—that’s the aspect we are addressing),” Gianan said.

Gianan added that the initiative of the DSWD does not only benefit adolescent mothers aged 10 to 19, but also their partners, parents, children, and other household members.

“So for ProtecTEEN, hindi lang yung adolescent mother yung target natin na beneficiary kasama po yung partner nila at pati na po yung pamilya nila kasi we want them na ma-guide pa rin po yung mother (So for ProtecTEEN, it's not just the adolescent mother that we're targeting as a beneficiary, but also their partner and their family because we want them to continue guiding the mother),” Gianan said.

She explained that the program seeks to enhance the ability of teenage mothers to fulfill their parental responsibilities by offering direct social services, referrals to relevant agencies, and the organization of peer advocates.

“Inclusive of this are the agency’s close collaboration with the healthcare sector to promote reproductive health services and other related interventions among targeted beneficiaries,” Gianan added.

Addressing intergenerational concern

The DSWD emphasized that the total family approach encourages spouses and other household members to become "empowered" to foster a supportive home environment and create a foundation for shared, responsible parenting.

Gianan said DSWD wanted to help address the “intergenerational concern” or cases wherein mothers become pregnant at a young age because a relative went through the same thing.

“Nangyayari paulit-ulit po yung problema, ayun yung gusto nating tugunan (This problem keeps repeating, and that’s what we want to address),” she added.

The DSWD interventions for adolescent mothers will include family healing sessions, family case management, assistance with employment, livelihood, education, capability-building activities, and referrals to relevant government agencies or private organizations.

These forms of assistance are aimed at ensuring that their circumstances do not prevent them from accessing education, livelihood opportunities when they reach the appropriate age, and the chance to correct past mistakes.

“Hindi naman po porke’t nadapa sila o nagkaroon sila ng maling desisyon sa buhay, we still want to help them para makabangon, at makatulong sila sa sarili nilang pamilya. Hindi po natin sila pababayaan (It’s not because they’ve stumbled or made wrong decisions in life that we want to help them get back up and be able to help their own families. We will not abandon them),” Gianan said.