Poor women end up having more children than they want or afford. In contrast, their wealthier counterparts are able to achieve their fertility goals.

By ANA SANTOS

After affluent Alabang, local politicians shut down access of women in poor communities to contraceptives

Balanga, Bataan — Maricel Sakdalan, 27, is nervous. Soft-spoken and shy, she shuffles uncomfortably in her seat, visibly anxious. She doesn’t know if she’s pregnant or not.

She and her husband already have three children and with his measly earnings, they cannot afford another one.

“My husband is a fisherman and does not have a steady income. Sometimes he can earn as much as P500 a day. On a bad day, [he earns] only P100, and on a really bad day, nothing. And me, I am just a housewife.”

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