Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
Answer the following and post your answers here. Cite references of your answers as much as possible.
- Other than the factors discussed in the lecture, what do you think are other factors affecting maternal mortality rate in the Philippines?
- Lack of Contraceptive Use. This primarily relates to the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion among women and teenage girls of reproductive age. Due to limited public access to contraceptives such as pills and condoms, as influenced by misinformation, lack of awareness, and societal views, unplanned and unwanted pregnancies occur more often and perpetuate the need for unsafe and illegal abortion. Risking the mother’s health and terminating the baby’s life are the main negative impacts that continues to lead from lack of contraceptive use in the country (Rau, 2015).
- Low Household Income and Persisting Poverty. Inaccessibility to basic pregnancy care services is pinned by favoritism of health facilities to catering more towards individuals in need of services from the upper class or households with higher income, by the health care services being ‘pro-rich,’ and by the existing gap between the rich and the poor in terms of income, opportunity in availing prenatal and antenatal care, and health options on pregnancy (Paredes, 2017). The lack of attention and care towards the population at the lower end of the income yield spectrum predisposes expecting mothers to maternal mortality.
- Regional Disparity. Significant differences are determined among the regional mortality rates between urbanized provinces in Luzon compared to lees progressive provinces in Mindanao. It was reported that 90% of births are handled and facilitated by a skilled birthing attendant in the National Capital Regio (NCR), a stark contrast to the 24% ratio in ARMM. Such figures prove the lack of trained staff and overall inaccessibility of health care services. Two reasons that ultimately contribute to higher maternal mortality.
- COVID 19 Pandemic. The rise in the number of unwanted and teenage pregnancies during the widespread stringent lockdown perpetuated by the global pandemic is alarming. Furthermore, the disruption of health and reproductive-related services in light of accommodating the surge of COVID-19 cases also fosters inaccessibility of health care for expecting women (UNFPA, 2020). Economically, the pandemic also contributed to the greater divide of social classes as it pressed down on the livelihood of millions of Filipinos. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic made accessing health care services be more impossible for struggling classes and exacerbated the dilemma of low-income and middle-income Filipino families who are primarily affected regarding their prioritization of health services over basic needs.
- Poor Healthcare Delivery System. In the many underdeveloped areas in the country, the population remains hindered from attaining and experiencing quality and adequate health care services. While other challenges pertain to location, means of transportation, and financial concerns,internal obstacles which permeate the delivery system also acts as barriers. Inadequate supply of materials, lack of basic devices and equipment, limited staffing, and faulty patient management all contribute to the inaccessibility of health and pregnant care in remote and rural places in the country.
- What are the top 3 causes of maternal mortality ratio in the Philippines? Top 3 maternal morbidity?
In the Philippines, according to the Department of Health in 2013, from 1992 to 2010, the top 3 causes of maternal mortality is led by complications related to pregnancy occurring in the course of labor, delivery, and puerperium at 38%, seconded by hypertension complicating pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium with 35%, and rounding up the top 3 is postpartum hemorrhage at 17%.
As mentioned in the lecture, the top 3 causes of maternal morbidity in the country is led by hemorrhage, accounting for 31%, followed by infection with a weight of 19%, and closely succeeded by abortion at 16%.
On the other hand, It is also important to reflect on the fact that according to Papp & Kleiman (2026), the foremost leading factors contributing to both maternal mortality and morbidity are (1) poor birthing practices in which deliveries are conducted without a skilled birth attendant, (2) socioeconomic status and income, and (3) the “urban-rural divide”.
References
Baccay, K.B. (2022). Prenatal Care and Safe Motherhood Lecture Video PART I. VLE. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SXIWQpPevbtDjGVAOOlWiDtyE9CqJskQ/view
Department of Health. (2013). Maternal Deaths by Main Cause. https://doh.gov.ph/Statistics/Maternal-Deaths-By-Main-Cause
Papp, L. & Kleiman, M. (2016, October). Maternal Morbidity and Mortality. http://philippineshealthdata.blogs.wm.edu/sample-page/maternal-morbidity-and-mortality/#
Paredes, K.P. (2016). Inequality in the use of maternal and child health services in the Philippines: do pro-poor health policies result in more equitable use of services? International Journal for Equity in Health, 15(181). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0473-y
Rau, A. (2015). Maternal Mortality in the Philippines. https://borgenproject.org/maternal-mortality-philippines/
The United Nations Population Fund. (2020). Significant rise in maternal deaths and unintended pregnancies feared because of COVID-19, UNFPA and UPPI study shows. https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/significant-rise-maternal-deaths-and-unintended-pregnancies-feared-because-covid