1. In response to Making Pregnancy Safer, what are the current programs in the country to address maternal mortality and morbidity? Cite at least 1.
In line with the WHO's Sustainable Development Goals listed as Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being, the Philippines has taken the initiative to join forces in combatting the universal dilemma on maternal mortality and morbidity. The National Safe Motherhood Program, a program initiated by the Department of Health, primarily focuses on the health and welfare of women throughout their pregnancy. It covers a continuum plan of care to adolescent pregnancy and meets Filipino women's needs for family planning contraceptives. The program also backs up the Ambisyon Natin 2040 that envisions a healthy family status including the mother. As directly quoted from their website, the goal of the National Safe Motherhood Program is "to provide rational and responsive policy direction to its local government partners in the delivery of quality maternal and newborn health services with integrity and accountability using proven and innovative approaches." (Department of Health, 2012)
2. What can you suggest in order to decrease our maternal mortality and morbidity in the country? Give at least 3 suggestions.
1. Increase governmental funding allocation to the medical branch.
The issue of maternal mortality and morbidity in the country is a problem that results from the government's lack of funding. Although the current government aims to usher the "Golden Age of Infrastructure, through the Project "Build build build," they have failed to understand what this country lacks. That is the number of clean and sanitized healthcare institutions that provide optimized maternal services to the Filipinos. To combat this, or at least make a step forward, the government should prioritize the renovation of pre-existing facilities and increase their well-functioning equipment, especially in the marginalized and provincial communities. Maternal mortality and morbidity are greatly linked to one's location, considering that most people opt to endure problems felt and neglect to go to hospitals due to check-up expenses, transportation costs, and insufficient hospital apparatus.
2. Strengthen country-wide maternal education through annual conferences and advertisements
One of the reasons why there are still increasing incidents of maternal mortality and morbidity is the incompetent maternal education of the Filipinos. There have been actions taken by various local government sectors in order to share literacy with people, but the problem lies in their poor execution. Of course, a one-time course wouldn't supplement all the necessary information a woman and her family needs to take regarding prenatal care. The local government should strengthen their project by conducting them annually combined with the distribution of easy-to-understand handouts. Furthermore, different mediums like television, laptops, phones to advertise these facts would be a great strategy. Included in this program are the topics concerning family planning, safe sex, and the use of contraceptives since we are aware that unwanted pregnancy is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity.
3. Improve the quality of care and safety received by patients in the hospital settings.
The leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity falls under complications with pregnancy. And surprisingly, a relative number of these cases are due to the incompetent and substandard quality of care they receive. Thus, certain mechanisms should be observed and followed by the healthcare team. First, the whole medical team should establish great skills in communicating to avoid any misdiagnosis with the patient's condition. Nurses should always work objectively, focusing on what benefits the patient. Second, refresher courses should be taken by medical practitioners, especially nurses to ensure that skills needed for prenatal care are established. Doing so will also notify the nurses of the new techniques, backed up by new literature, to be followed in handling pregnant patients.
References:
Collier, A. Y., & Molina, R. L. (2019). Maternal Mortality in the United States: Updates on Trends, Causes, and Solutions. NeoReviews, 20(10), e561–e574. https://doi.org/10.1542/neo.20-10-e561
Department of Health. (2012). Doh.gov.ph. https://doh.gov.ph/health-programs/safe-motherhood-program#:~:text=The%20National%20Safe%20Motherhood%20Program,of%20women%20throughout%20their%20pregnancy.&text=This%20program%20aims%20to%20provide,mothers%20of%20a%20Filipino%20family