Live births in the region mostly attended by physicians

• Ilocos Region registered a total of 5,591 births in January 2021.
• There were 4,973 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 4,051 registered live births.
• Midwives attended to 852 registered live births in the region while nurses only attended to 70 registered live births.

Ilocos Norte: Highest percentage of birth deliveries attended by health professionals

• Ilocos Norte had the highest percentage of birth deliveries attended by health professionals with 90 percent of the total registered live births in the province.
• Ilocos Sur  and Pangasinan followed with 89 percent, La Union with 88 percent.
• Of the total 4,973 registered live births that were attended by medical practitioners in the region, Pangasinan had the most registered live births at 62 percent (3,106).
• La Union followed at 743 registered live births or 15 percent then Ilocos Sur with 640 (13 percent) and lastly, Ilocos Norte with 484 (10 percent) registered live biths.

Less than seven hindred births attended at birth by unlicensed midwives 

• There were 608 registered live births in the region this January 2021 who were attended at birth by unlicensed midwives.  
• La Union registered 99 live births attended at birth by unlicensed midwives. That is 12 percent of the total registered live births in the province.
• Pangasinan had 382 registered live births or 11 percent attended at birth by unlicensed midwives in the province.
• Ilocos Sur registered 72 (10 percent) live births who were attended by unlicensed midwives.
• Ilocos Norte had 10 percent or 55 registered live births attended by unlicensed midwives in January 2021.

Number of teenage mothers reached six hundred

• The registered live births in the region were mostly born to parents who  were aged 25 to 29 years old.   The highest proportion of fathers and mother belonged to age group 25 to 29 years (24 percent and 26 percent, respectively).
• The region registered a total of 504 live births who were born to mothers under 20 years of age.   
• The region also noted 160 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 30 years old.  

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

• More than half (58 percent) or 2,328 of the total registered live births in January 2021 were born illegitimate.  
• Mothers belonging in the age group 20 to 24 recorded the highest number of illegitimate children with 986 births or 30 percent.  It was followed by age group 25 to 29  with 808 births (25 percent).
• Meanwhile, mothers at age group 30 to 64 recorded the highest number of illegitimate children with 728 births (31 percent). followed by age group of 25 to 29 with 672 births (29 percent), and age group 35 to 38 with 381 births (16 percent).

SGD. ATTY. SHEILA O. DE GUZMAN