Live births in the region mostly attended by physicians

• Ilocos Region registered a total of 5,525 births in March 2021.
• There were 4,530 total registered live births that were attended by medical practitioners, who may either be a physician, a nurse, or a midwife.
• Physicians topped the list of attendants at birth with 3,145 registered live births.
• Midwives attended to 761 registered live births in the region while nurses only attended to 624 registered live births.

La Union: Highest percentage of birth deliveries attended by health professionals

• La Union had the highest percentage of birth deliveries attended by health professionals with 88 percent of the total registered live births in the province.
• Pangasinan followed with 82 percent while Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur followed with 79 and 77 percent, respectively.
• Of the total 4,530 registered live births that were attended by medical practitioners in the region, Pangasinan had the most registered live births attended by medical practitioners with 61 percent (2,768 live births).
• La Union followed at 17 percent (769 registered live births) then Ilocos Norte with 12 percent (522 live births) and lastly, Ilocos Sur with 10 percent (471 live births).  

Less than one thousand births attended at birth by unlicensed midwives 

• There were 941 registered live births in the region in March 2021 who were attended at birth by unlicensed midwives.  
• Ilocos Sur have the highest percentage of birth deliveries attended by unlicensed midwives with 22 percent of the total registered live births in the province. 
• Ilocos Norte registered 21 percent (137 live births) who were attended by unlicensed midwives.
• Pangasinan registered 17 percent (568 live births) who were attended by unlicensed midwives.
• La Union also registered 12 percent (101 registered live births) who were attended by unlicensed midwives in March 2021.

Number of teenage mothers reached five hundred

• The registered live births in the region were mostly born to parents aged 25 to 29 years old. The highest proportion of fathers and mothers belonged to age group 25 to 29 years old (26 percent and 27 percent, respectively).
• The region registered a total of 530 live births born to mothers under 20 years of age.   
• The region also noted 168 fathers who are under twenty years old.
• The median age of mothers was 28 years old.  This means that half the number  of mothers was younger than 28 years old and half was older than 28 years old.
• The median age of fathers was 31 years old.   

More than half of live births in the region were registered illegitimate

• More than half (58 percent) or 3,184 of the total registered live births in March 2021 were born illegitimate.  

• Mothers belonging in the age group 20 to 24 recorded the highest number of illegitimate children with 31 percent (978 births). It was followed by age group 

25 to 29 with 25 percent  (792 births). 

• Meanwhile, mothers at age group 25 to 29 recorded the highest number of legitimate children with 31 percent (723 births), followed by age group of 30 to 34 with 26 percent  (606 births).