In response to Making Pregnancy Safer, what are the current programs in the country to address maternal mortality and morbidity? Cite at least 1.
The Department of Health (n.d) issued Administrative Order 2008-0029 “Implementing Health Reforms for Rapid Reduction of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality”. This policy provides a package of maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition (MNCHN) services. These packages include:
- Pre-pregnancy: provision of iron and folate supplementation, advice on healthy lifestyle, provision of family planning services and, prevention and management of infection and lifestyle-related diseases, adolescent health services, deworming of women of reproductive age, nutritional counseling, and oral health.
- Pregnancy: provision of at least 4 prenatal visits to detect and manage danger signs and complications of pregnancy, provision of iron, folate, and iodine supplementation and 2 tetanus toxoid immunization, counseling on healthy lifestyle and breastfeeding, prevention and management of infection
- Delivery: skilled birth attendance/skilled health professional-assisted delivery and facility-based deliveries including the use of partograph, proper management of pregnancy and delivery complications and newborn complications, and access to BEmONC or CEmONC services.
- Post-Partum: visit within 72 hours and on the 7th day postpartum to check for conditions such as bleeding or infections, Vitamin A supplements to the mother, counseling on family planning and available services, maternal nutrition and lactation counseling, and postnatal visit of the newborn together with her visit.
- Newborn care until the first week of life: Interventions such as immediate drying, skin to skin contact between mother and newborn, cord clamping after 1 to 3 minutes, non-separation of the baby from the mother, early initiation of breastfeeding, as well as essential newborn care, newborn care prior and after to discharge
- Child Care: immunization, micronutrient supplementation (Vitamin A, iron); exclusive and sustained breastfeeding with complementary feeding, integrated management of childhood illnesses, injury prevention, oral health, and insecticide-treated nets for mothers and children in malaria-endemic areas
What can you suggest to decrease our maternal mortality and morbidity in the country? Give at least 3 suggestions.
- Educate
- Educating women on Ante-, intra-, and postpartum care is highly encouraged. This gives awareness of modifiable environmental and personal risks that they are exposed to. This also enables them to have a healthy diet and lifestyle for the optimal development of their child. Parents with adherence to proper health habits are more likely to give birth to a baby without delivery complications, birth defects, or other disabling conditions. Adequate pre-conception education in the public health setting should be provided by the government especially in areas with prevalent low-income households. This should also be emphasized in rural areas with prevalent cultural beliefs and unsafe birthing practices that can further inflict damage on both the mother and child. Education also includes topics on reproductive health such as safe sex practices and contraception (Stover et. al, 2016)
- Legalizing abortion or providing other options
- one of the leading causes of maternal mortality is unsafe abortion due to the lack of options given to Filipino women when pregnancy is unwanted. They opt for taking unsafe drugs that claim to cause them miscarriage but in turn do more harm such as hemorrhage, infection (sepsis), toxicity, etc. Women should simply have the right to freedom, equality, autonomy, freedom from discrimination to public health, family planning, etc., and legalizing abortion would provide that. In instances that this is really not an option, especially in our Christian-dominated country, providing other options such as uncomplicated adoption facilities would be beneficial. The adoption process is highly encouraged to be nonjudgmental towards the mother of the child and have an uncomplicated process.
- Affordable reproductive healthcare
- A big factor in maternal morbidity and mortality is the low socioeconomic status of the family. They opt for unsafe practices simply because they couldn’t afford costly medication fees, doctor’s fees, laboratory fees, vitamin supplements leading to a further increase in maternal morbidity and mortality rates. In a country where overpopulation persists, dominated by low-income and uneducated families, affordable reproductive healthcare is a must. After all, what good is knowing how to do the right thing if you cant even afford it.
- More healthcare facilities
- Statistics have shown that isolated regions/communities that exist far from the country’s capital and urban centers have a higher maternal morbidity and mortality rate. This is detrimental when emergencies need an immediate medical response, most cases which are child-birth.
References:
Department of Health (n.d). MNCHN Strategy Manual of Operations. Retrieved from https://doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/publications/MNCHNMOPMay4withECJ.pdf
Stover J, Hardee K, Ganatra B, et al. (2016, Apr 5). Interventions to Improve Reproductive Health. In: Black RE, Laxminarayan R, Temmerman M, et al., editors. Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health: Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 2). Washington (DC): The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank;. Chapter 6. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK361913/ doi: 10.1596/978-1-4648-0348-2_ch6