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Other than the factors discussed in the lecture, what do you think are other factors affecting maternal mortality rate in the Philippines?
Aside from the factors mentioned in the lecture, which are Antenatal care, Delivery care, and Postpartum care, I think the pro-rich health care system of our country, lack of information (WHO, 2019), inadequate and poor quality services mainly due to insufficient funds for our country’s health care sector, and the cultural beliefs and practices of some Filipinos particularly those that are part of indigenous people are also factors that contribute to the maternal mortality rate in the Philippines.
The first factor I added is actually related to the discussion under Antenatal care, but I included it because I wanted to emphasize that one of the major contributors to this factor is the government, which has unfortunately allowed our health care system to become pro-rich, resulting in many inequalities between social classes, including access to health care (Pardes, 2016). The second factor that I believe influences our country's maternal mortality rate is a lack of information, which is a manifestation of our country's poor education system. Because there are still many Filipinos who do not have access to school owing to a variety of factors, including a lack of funds, these people are unable to learn about preconception care. Another problem resulting from government inefficiency is the limited and low quality services provided by some health care institutions, particularly those located far from urban areas. Last is the cultural beliefs and practices of certain indigenous people like the Aetas. Despite the fact that health initiatives have been developed to enhance knowledge about safe pregnancy, there are still people who adhere to the traditional practices (Leabres et al., 2019).
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What are the top 3 causes of maternal mortality ratio in the Philippines? Top 3 maternal morbidity?
According to the Department of Health (2013), the top three causes of maternal mortality in the Philippines include: (1) complications related to pregnancy occurring in the course of labor, delivery, and puerperium; (2) hypertension complicating pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium; (3) postpartum hemorrhage. On the other hand, the top three causes of maternal morbidity in the Philippines are hemorrhage, infection, and unsafe abortion.
References:
Department of Health. (2013, December 9). Maternal Deaths By Main Cause. Department of Health Website. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from https://doh.gov.ph/Statistics/Maternal-Deaths-By-Main-Cause
Leabres Jr., J., Jose, M., Nuqui, A., Nogoy, J., Pudadera, R., & Ramos, W. (2019). Maternal and Infant Care Beliefs and Practices of Aeta Mothers in Central Luzon, Philippines. Journal of Health and Caring Sciences, 1(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.37719/jhcs.2019.v1i1.oa003
Paredes, K. P. 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(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0473-y
WHO. (2019b, September 19). Maternal mortality. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality