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Too much, too soon (clockwise from left): Pasuob for easier birthing; only 16 and a mother twice over; smoking out the prenatal blues among friends; in the dark about contraceptives

The Batang Ina photo exhibit shows how pregnant adolescents are suddenly thrust into adulthood with tremendous force
documentary photographer Cristina Luisa Sevilla has personally witnessed several times. She recounts: I have seen single-

A Stolen Childhood
HER topic is one that

subjects of her exhibit, Batang Ina. The photo-documentary on teenage mothers show the emotional, mental and financial turmoil that underage mothers put up with

photographer, I am drawn to the complex lives that these young mothers lead. These children wake up one day to find that they are no longer children. Their childhood, the time of their lives when they should play and enjoy their youth, is suddenly altered by pregnancy. They are catapulted to adulthood with tremendous force, and they must endure it to lead bearable lives. motherhood happen to very close friends. I have stood beside them during their darkest nights, walked with them in those nervous hours in hospital corridors and witnessed the beautiful, joyful or solemn firsts in their childrens lives. But these, she acknowledges, were friends who were of age, educated and part of the working middleclass, in stark contrast to the during what should probably be one of the happiest moments in their life. It is difficult to imagine the depth and breadth of their pain and the immensity of strength that they need to survive, Sevilla says of these 12- to 18-year-old single, uneducated women who are mostly from the lower class. She continues: As a documentary The photo exhibit (which runs until tomorrow at the ground floor of the Legislative Building of the Quezon City Hall) dramatizes what are already alarming statistics: In 2004, a study made by the National Statistics Office showed that of 1.7 million babies, almost 8 percent were born to mothers aged 15-19. A study by the UP Population Institute and Guttmacher Institute showed that in 2006, six out of 10 Filipino women have unintended pregnancy

because of lack of access to, and knowledge of, modern contraceptives. On paper, the statistics sound alarming. But while doing this documentary, what I learned is that reality is even more astounding. You can walk into any poor community and find an overabundance of child mothers. Most of these girls have never seen a condom or know what it is for. Most girls are unaware of protecting themselves. Once pregnant, most will give up their studies, work and worseany hope that they will ever get out of poverty. Most will bear another child and another and another. Hopefully, Sevillas photographs will midwife enough initiatives from government to stop this unproductive cycle. PAC
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