RICH AND POOR REALITIES
Sandejas dismisses the notion that men tend to leave the responsibility of contraception to women, and that men find it difficult to comply with the abstention required of couples who opt for natural contraception. “I think the men would resent the accusation that they are like animals,” he says. He says most men are responsible, “even those who live in the slums, even the uneducated.”

Sandejas warns of a “demographic winter,” of a graying society with no young blood, of the “human race becoming extinct,” should all countries aggressively try to limit their population. With sadness in his voice, he notes that 50 years ago, Filipino families had an average of seven children; now the average is inching closer to just two children per family.

But experts say that average does not capture the reality of poorer households having more children than higher-income families. While the poorest 20 percent of Filipino women have an average of six to seven children, the richest 20 percent have an average of two.

The 2007 World Bank report on population issues also highlights the correlation between the number of children a woman gives birth to and her capacity to earn. “In the Philippines, the average income growth for women with one to three pregnancies was twice that of women who had undergone more than seven pregnancies,” it says. “Accordingly, the number of children a woman gives birth to affects her subsequent employment and income prospects, with the risk of further driving gender inequalities and perpetuating poverty.”

The report says that since a large family is unable to adequately invest in education, the setback “can create inequities in education and perpetuate poverty.”

With the odds stacked against women who belong to the poorest of the poor, the World Bank report calls on policymakers and development agencies to address inequities in the area of reproductive health.