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.
In the Philippines, the National Safe Motherhood program is implemented by the Department of Health to address the trend of maternal mortality and morbidity. It primarily aims to promote full access to health services for Filipino women in order to make their pregnancy and delivery safer. It also includes the resolution of adolescent pregnancy and unmet needs for family planning contraceptives for women until 2030 (DOH, n.d.). It offers benefit packages for maternity and newborn care as well as professional training for healthcare workers. It also gives out implementation support materials such as modules and manuals to midwives, pregnant women, and the LGU.
The two components of the National Safe Motherhood program are Local Delivery of the Maternal-Newborn Service Package and National Capacity to sustain Maternal-Newborn services (Ruiz, 2016). The first component gives LGUs the capacity to mobilize various private and public service providers to deliver the integrated maternal-newborn service package through Women's or Community Health Teams, Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn CareTeams (CEmONC), and Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC) Teams. On the other hand, the second component targets to provide the longevity required to create consistency in the delivery of health services.
2. What can you suggest in order to decrease our maternal mortality and morbidity in the country? Give at least 3 suggestions.
To decrease maternal mortality and morbidity in the country, various aspects of maternal and public healthcare need to be addressed. These are the following:
- Access to Quality Healthcare. The lack of access to adequate care before, during, and after pregnancy is still a prevalent problem in the country. Women should have access to affordable and high-quality health facilities where medical professionals such as physicians, nurses, and midwives can inform their health status and relevant information about their pregnancy.
- Health Education. Teenagers or adolescents should be taught responsible sexual behavior education, specifically safe sex methods, to prevent teenage pregnancy in the country. According to studies, teens who received comprehensive sex education were less likely to become pregnant than those who received no sex education (Huang, 2017).
- Access to Contraceptives. Free contraceptives must be given to families upon consultation. The government must strengthen the implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 or the RH Law to guarantee universal and free access to modern contraceptives for all Filipinos, including impoverished communities at government health centers.
- Decriminalization of abortion. Based on statistics, thousands of Filipino women die each year because of abortion complications (Finer & Hussain, 2013). With abortion decriminalized, women's access to safe abortion and post-abortion care will not be delayed, thus averting maternal mortality and morbidity from unsafe abortion. It will also provide an opportunity to end unwanted pregnancies of sexually exploited/trafficked women, incest, and rape survivors.
References:
Department of Health (DOH). (n.d.). National Safe Motherhood Program. https://doh.gov.ph/national-safe-motherhood-program
Ruiz, K.C.N. (2016). Examining the Department of Health's "National Safe Motherhood Program" as a policy addressing the increasing trend in the Philippine Maternal Mortality Ratio. The Asian Conference on the Social Sciences 2016. https://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/acss2016/ACSS2016_23117.pdf
Huang, I. (2017). Teen pregnancy and education in developing countries. Borgen Magazine. https://www.borgenmagazine.com/teen-pregnancy-and-education/
Finer, L.B. & Hussain, R. (2013). Unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion in the Philippines: Context and consequences. Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/unintended-pregnancy-and-unsafe-abortion-philippines-context-and-consequences