<div><p>One in three newborns in the Philippines is unwanted or unplanned, the government said Thursday, as the country struggles with a population explosion and the Church's opposition to birth control. </p><p>The fertility rate of Filipino women stood at 3.3 children, even though four out of 10 said they preferred to have only two children, the National Statistics Office said in a statement, citing the results of a national survey.</p><p>Among its findings, the study revealed that 36 percent of all newborn children were either unwanted or "mistimed".</p><p>Fifty three percent of births to women aged between 40 and 44 were unplanned, with 84 percent of such births unwanted, it added.</p><p>In general, women with a lower level of education and those from poorer households wanted to have more children.</p><p>The Philippines population is projected to reach 94 million this year, up by more than five million from the 2007 census count.</p><p>The influential Roman Catholic Church, which forbids artificial birth control, has consistently opposed population control programmes. As a result, the government is reluctant to fund family planning schemes.</p><p>The survey also found 73 percent of married women would use birth control if it were available, 22 percentage points higher than the 51 percent that did use such methods.</p><p>The rate of those wanting, but not having access to, family planning had increased since a similar survey in 2003, it added.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=66906580&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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