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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 Safe Motherhood Program was developed to achieve the lowering of maternal and infant mortality ratio in the country. Its principles include lowering the risk of maternal deaths by making sure that every pregnancy is properly planned and managed in that prenatal, antenatal, and postpartum care is accessible to women. Among the provisions of the program are the inclusion of maternity care packages in the universal healthcare coverage provided by PhilHealth, the training of doctors, nurses, and midwives for basic emergency obstetric care, and a budget allocation for the surveillance of maternal deaths as an evaluation of the policy’s effectiveness (Department of Health, n.d.).
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What can you suggest in order to decrease our maternal mortality and morbidity in the country? Give at least 3 suggestions.
The goal of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity ratio will never be achieved unless women are provided the opportunity to make safe, informed choices regarding pregnancy.
As was discussed in our lecture, unsafe abortion remains among the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. This will remain true unless abortion is made legal in the country. Due to this, women with unintended pregnancies are forced to resort to unsafe procedures where their health is compromised or worse, it leads to their death. In this case, I believe abortion must be legalized. Women must be given choices that would not cost their life.
In the first topic, the importance of preconception care was emphasized. Yet, services in line with this are not accessible to the masses, especially in the far-flung areas where healthcare services are not readily available. This leads to unmonitored conception that may potentially cause complications that could endanger both the mother and unborn child. Supplementation to meet the requirements of pregnancy as well as health status monitoring of conceiving mothers must be made free and readily accessible.
Lastly, the emphasis and improvement on the maternal education programs in the country. All women belonging to the age group able to conceive should receive material health education to make sure that they are prepared and aware of the choices and services that they can utilize. This is a part of sex education, which remains not fully integrated in the education system of the country. So long as misinformation continues, it will be difficult to promote safe pregnancy for all.
Reference:
Department of Health. (n.d.). SAFE MOTHERHOOD PROGRAM. https://doh.gov.ph/health-programs/safe-motherhood-program