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.
- The National Safe Motherhood Program is mainly concerned with the health and well-being of pregnant women. It also prioritizes preventing teenage pregnancy and satisfying women's unmet needs for family planning contraceptives until 2030. This initiative strives to offer excellent healthcare to Filipino women in order to ensure a safer pregnancy and delivery. One of its objectives is to develop a core knowledge foundation and support structures that enable the country to provide quality maternal and newborn care.
2. What can you suggest in order to decrease our maternal mortality and morbidity in the country? Give at least 3 suggestions.
- Universal healthcare coverage. Having equitable access to quality and affordable healthcare services makes it easier for every woman to get the necessary care they need. It also encourages pregnant women to keep regular prenatal and postnatal check ups to guarantee health pregnancy.
- Professionalization and broad use of midwives. Because pregnancy and labor are life stages in which women and their families are the key decision makers, an autonomous midwifery profession would be able to assist them in making informed decisions in a way that improves pregnancy and birth outcomes.
- Gathering and analyzing health data in order to make policy decisions. Higher maternal mortality and morbidity rates could be linked to a lack of structured data to guide and prioritize policymakers' efforts to enhance the health of pregnant women. Sufficient resources and reliable data are needed in order to understand the scope of the obstacles preventing women from receiving the treatment they need. Only by comprehending the problems can appropriate efforts be taken to develop solutions.
References:
DOH. (n.d.). Safe Motherhood Program. Retrieved March 20, 2022, from https://doh.gov.ph/health-programs/safe-motherhood-program