Answer the following and post your answers here. Cite references of your answers as much as possible.
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.
a. National Safe Motherhood Program- The National Safe Motherhood Program aims to provide Filipino women access to quality healthcare for a safer pregnancy and delivery and promote the health and well-being of mothers of a Filipino family. The Program contributes to the national goal of improving women’s health and well-being through: (1) collaboration with local government units in establishing a sustainable, cost-effective approach of delivering health services and (2) establishment of a core knowledge base and support systems that facilitate the delivery of quality maternal and newborn health services in the country. The program components include local delivery of the maternal–newborn service package, national capacity to sustain maternal-newborn services, basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) training and monitoring and research on midwife clinics and maternal statistics, and the establishment of FP service packages and outreach missions (Department of Health, n.d.).
b. National Family Planning Program- The National Family Planning Program aims to ensure every Filipino has universal access to correct information, medically safe, legal, non-abortifacient, effective, and culturally acceptable modern family planning (FP) methods. Specifically, the program aims to increase modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) among all women to 30% by 2022 (from 24.9% in 2017) and to reduce the unmet need for modern family planning to 8% by 2022 (from 10.8% in 2017). The program components include the provision of free, medically safe, and culturally acceptable FP commodities, demand generation through a community-based management information system (Department of Health, n.d.).
c. Micronutrient Supplementation Program- The Micronutrient Supplementation Program aims to provide supplementation and nutrition programs for pregnant mothers, infants, and children to reduce the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies below public health significance. The program aims to achieve better health outcomes, sustained health financing, and a responsive health system through micronutrient supplementation, food fortification, growth monitoring, and promotion and improving diet/ dietary diversification (Department of Health, n.d.).
2. What can you suggest in order to decrease our maternal mortality and morbidity in the country? Give at least 3 suggestions.
a. Strengthen service delivery networks and health promotion activities. The shift in emphasis from identifying and treating high-risk pregnancies to preventive care has a significant impact on maternal care and helps to better pregnancy outcomes by preparing all women for potential obstetric difficulties. Strengthening the network of public and private health facilities through technical assistance, funding and PhilHealth accreditation develops the local health facilities and the maternal care they can provide (Cagayan et al., 2019). Additionally, the public should be educated about pregnancy and delivery and safe sexual practices through the media, and systematic initiatives led by schools and organizations to spread awareness and overcome the stigma of discussing sexual and reproductive health.
b. Ensure access to reproductive health, sexual health, and family planning services, particularly in rural areas. Maternal mortality rates in rural areas are greater than in metropolitan areas due to a lack of access to care and information on reproductive health and family planning services. Improving inequalities in the use of maternal and child health services has the potential to improve not only women's and children's general health but also to reduce the risk of maternal fatalities related to the non-use of health care (Wulandari et al., 2021). The provision of incentives in the form of free maternal services and cash grants, along with the mobilization of community participation encourages the utilization of maternal services such as antenatal care and birthing in health facilities (Paredes, 2016).
c. Guarantee access to skilled delivery care. Doctors and midwives have a higher level of expertise and are preferred because of their ability to recognize complications during birth and treat them effectively. There is also potential in providing capacity training for traditional birth attendants or “hilots” as they continue to play an important role in the delivery of health care services (Del Mundo, Echevarra, & Sarcia, 1972). Maternal outcomes depend greatly on the early detection of problems, adequate emergency treatment, and enhanced logistics for speedy transport of difficult cases to district hospitals, especially in far-flung areas. Improved delivery care necessitates increased medical coverage with the help of skilled staff, service, and reliable supply lines (Bacani, 2020).
References:
Bacani, X. C. (2020, October 25). The Philippines has a policy against home births. it's not playing well in a pandemic. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/10/25/925442135/the-philippines-has-a-policy-against-home-births-its-not-playing-well-in-a-pande
Cagayan, M. S. F., Garcia , F., Ang-Bon, R. M., & Salonga, R. (2019, November). Analysis of trends in maternal mortalities in Bicol region using national surveys and maternal death reviews. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341895604_Analysis_of_trends_in_maternal_mortalities_in_Bicol_region_using_national_surveys_and_maternal_death_reviews
Del Mundo, F., Echevarra, R., Leuterio, L., & Sarcia, S. (1972). Better utilization of traditional birth attendants (hilots) in the delivery of maternal-child health services in Philippine rural communities: a pilot project (1971-72). The Philippine journal of pediatrics, 21 (6), 238–248.
Department of Health (n.d.) Micronutrient supplementation program. https://doh.gov.ph/micronutrient-program
Department of Health (n.d.) National family planning program. https://doh.gov.ph/family-planning
Department of Health (n.d.) National safe motherhood program. https://doh.gov.ph/national-safe-motherhood-program
Paredes, K. P. P. (2016, November 10). 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. BioMed Central. https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0473-y#citeas
Wulandari, R. D., Laksono, A. D., & Rohmah, N. (2021, June 24). Urban-rural disparities of antenatal care in South East Asia: A case study in the Philippines and Indonesia - BMC Public Health. BioMed Central. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11318-2