Manobo teen to finish studies despite being a mother
Eighteen-year-old Mary pauses her laundry to comfort her crying baby girl, Angel. She cradles her in her arms, whispering to her that everything’s all right because her mother is right there. Angel gives a faint smile before drifting back to sleep, comforted by her mother’s presence.
“It’s very challenging to take care of a baby, especially when you have so many chores to do,” shares Mary. “Sometimes, I can’t even take a bath properly because I have to rush to comfort Angel as soon as she cries.”
Mary, a Manobo, was only 17 when she got pregnant. She met her husband when he came to her village to construct houses. The Manobos are the Philippines indigenous people mostly living in Mindanao, south of the Philippines.
When she noticed she was not getting her regular period for the third consecutive month, she decided to take a pregnancy test. She found out she was indeed pregnant.
“I wasn’t scared. Our parents already met and talked about our marriage before the pregnancy,” Mary shares.
Since marriage was already in their plans, Mary’s parents already saw this coming. “We’re still happy, we have an additional grandchild, and she’s a girl,” says Mary’s mother, Anna.
Mary’s giving birth at an early age is no surprise. After all, the latest report from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the percentage of teen mothers under the age of 15 giving live birth rose to 35.13%, or from 2,320 in 2021 to 3,135 in 2022.
What’s surprising about Mary is her knowledge about mother and child care and nutrition. Aside from breastfeeding her baby, she also takes vitamins she received from their health center where she also gets her prenatal check-ups. Although she missed most seminars for first-time mothers, Mary is grateful to have people around her who help her raise her child.
“I am glad I have them help me because it’s really hard, and I want to go back to school,” she says.
Mary was supposed to graduate from senior high school this year. However, after completing eleventh grade while still five months pregnant, she decided to prioritize her pregnancy.
“It would be too hard for me to walk to school since there’s no transportation available here, and it’s quite far.” The scorching heat and the often steep, muddy roads to and from their village are among the factors that forced her not to postpone her 12th grade studies until after giving birth.
“I plan to finish 12th grade this coming school year. It might be hard to do homework and study at the house, but I will make it work, especially when the baby is sleeping,” Mary laughs. “I have no regrets even if it’s hard. I am happy to have Angel in my life.”
Mary dreams of raising Angel with the same values her parents instilled in her.
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