- In response to Making Pregnancy Safer, what are the current programs in the country to address maternal mortality and morbidity? Cite at least 1.
- What can you suggest in order to decrease our maternal mortality and morbidity in the country? Give at least 3 suggestions.
Programs in the country that address Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
1. Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood Project 2
- Aims to strengthen the ability of the health system to deliver a package of interventions, including maternal care, family planning, control of sexually transmitted infections and adolescent health services – with a priority on serving disadvantaged women
- Includes:
- Improved sector governance
- Establishment of infrastructures and procurement of essential medical products and equipment
- Enhanced human resource development: Clinical skill-building and formation of village-based women’s health teams
- Results-based financing mechanisms and social health insurance coverage
- Service delivery: availability, quantity and quality of essential health services
2. Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) Strategy
- Aims to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and improve maternal health through effective population-wide provision and use of integrated MNCHN services as appropriate to any locality in the country
- Includes:
- Universal access to and utilization of an MNCHN core package of services and interventions directed not only to individual women of reproductive age and newborns at different stages of the life cycle, but also to the community
- Establishment of a Service Delivery Network at all levels of care to provide the package of services and interventions
- Organized use of instruments for health systems development to bring all localities to create and sustain their service delivery network
- Rapid build-up of institutional capacities of DOH and PhilHealth which will provide support to local planning and development through appropriate standards, capacity build-up of implementers, and financing mechanisms
3. National Safe Motherhood Program
- For Filipino women to have full access to health services towards making their pregnancy and delivery safer
- Includes:
- Local Delivery of the Maternal–Newborn Service Package: Supports LGUs in establishing and mobilizing the service delivery network of public and private providers to enable them to deliver the integrated maternal-newborn service package
- National Capacity to Sustain Maternal-Newborn Services: Offers operational and regulatory guidelines which aims to identify and profile individuals who implement family planning and popularize it through dissemination of information, education, and communication materials. It also provides skills training for healthcare practitioners such as physicians, nurses, and midwives
Suggestions to decrease Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
- Health education regarding maternal mortality and morbidity
- Health education regarding pregnancy for woman of childbearing age and their partners
- Promote use of condoms and contraceptives
- Make maternal healthcare accessible
- Provide positive experience during initial checkup so that the client will go to a follow-up session and the pregnancy can be monitored
References:
Department of Health (n.d.). Department of Health MNCHN Strategy. https://doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/publications/MNCHNMOPMay4withECJ.pdf
Department of Health (n.d.). National Safe Motherhood Program. https://doh.gov.ph/national-safe-motherhood-program
Huntington, D., Banzon, E., & Recidoro, Z. D. (2012). A systems approach to improving maternal health in the Philippines. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 90(2), 104–110. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.11.092825