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 following are some of the current programs implemented in the country to address maternal mortality and morbidity:
- National Safe Motherhood Program. This program, developed by the Department of Health, focuses on promoting the health, safety, and welfare of women throughout pregnancy and childbirth. It aims to ensure the accessibility of health services for Filipino women. Moreover, this initiative also incorporates adolescent pregnancies and meeting unmet needs for family planning contraceptives of women into its priority agenda until 2030. In general, it helps improve women’s health and well-being via two components: Component A focuses on collaborating with Local Government Units (LGUs) to ensure sustainable & cost-effective delivery of quality maternal and newborn health services; meanwhile, Component B focuses on supporting national capacities that facilitate the delivery of these services, including advocating for family planning, providing skills training, and monitoring and supervision of private midwife clinics. The program is guided by Republic Act. No. 10354: Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law (RPRH Act of 2012).
- Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) Services Strategy. This initiative was created in line with the DOH Administrative Order 2008-0029 that seeks to rapidly reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality by providing Basic and Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC and CEmONC) capability of health facilities in order to meet United Nations Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, which are to reduce child mortality and to improve maternal health, respectively. The goal of rapidly reducing maternal and neonatal mortality shall be achieved through effective population-wide provision and use of integrated MNCHN services as appropriate to any locality in the country. The strategy aims to achieve the following intermediate results: (1) every pregnancy should be wanted, planned and supported; (2) every pregnancy is adequately managed throughout its course; (3) every delivery is facility-based and managed by skilled birth attendants/skilled health professionals; and (4) every mother and newborn pair secures proper postpartum and newborn care with smooth transitions to the women’s health care package for the mother and child survival package for the newborn.
- Community-Managed Maternal and Newborn Care. Developed by the Department of Health, this program equips midwives, nurses, and doctors in the non-BEmOC Rural Health Units (RHUs) and Barangay Health Stations (BHSs) with basic skills needed to contribute to reducing, if not eliminating, maternal and infant mortality and morbidity at the community level. It facilitates proper care of mothers during pregnancy, labor, delivery and post delivery, and their newborns by ensuring proper understanding of the (1) the implications of the three delay model on maternal and newborn health, (2) the framework of the Community-Managed Maternal and Newborn Care (CMMNC), (3) the basic clinical protocol for managing maternal and newborn complications, and (4) the management of maternal and newborn health services.
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, the following efforts can be done:
- Provide education and awareness campaigns for women, mothers, and families on safe motherhood. Maternal mortality is greatly associated with lack of knowledge and low levels of education. As such, providing factual information regarding safe motherhood is an appropriate and effective response. Equipping women of all ages with the knowledge required to achieve safe motherhood, from proper nutrition, medications, to other lifestyle and environmental conditions and modifications, can guide them towards making well-informed choices and implementing positive health behaviors for their own health and well-being. Furthermore, proper family planning, sex education, and contraceptive use should be taught, included in lectures and discussions, and destigmatized to reduce incidences of unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions, which further contribute to the high rates of maternal mortality in the Philippines. These education and awareness campaigns could take place through local programs held in barangays when the pandemic subsides. Other platforms, such as social media, broadcasting media, and print media could also be utilized to reach a wider audience since they can be easily accessed by the public, especially during these times.
- Empower women, girls, families, and communities. Prioritizing the survival and health of women and girls requires recognition of their high value within the society through attention to gender equality and empowerment. In order to empower women, it is important to implement interventions that facilitate women’s capacity to care for, and choose for themselves. This includes women’s autonomy over their own reproductive lives and health-care decisions, access to health-care services and options, and the ability to influence the quality of those services through participatory mechanisms. Planning should prioritize equal access to resources, education, information and focused efforts to eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination, including disrespect and abuse of women using health-care services. Achieving substantive equality calls for governments to address structural, historical and social determinants of health, and gender discrimination including economic inequality and workplace discrimination, to ensure equal outcomes for women and girls. Supporting women’s ability to make active decisions positively influences the health of their children and families.
- Prioritize adequate and effective healthcare resources and funding. The lack of funding and resources allocated to maternal and newborn health facilities is a primary contributing factor on maternal morbidity and mortality in the country as this compromises the quality of care given to reproductive women given the lack of proper training for health professionals and the inadequacy of basic medical supplies. Hence, there is a need to prioritize adequate resources and effective healthcare financing through specific and transparent budget lines to improve the quality of maternal and child care in the country. Sufficient finances must be given to provide a budget for adequate medical equipment and resources, health professional training programs, health insurance, and enough remuneration to healthcare practitioners as well as access to advanced medical technology.
References:
Department of Health. (2006). Community-Managed Maternal and Newborn Care: A Guide for
Primary Health Care Professionals.
https://www.jica.go.jp/project/philippines/0600894/04/pdf/cmmnc_01.pdf
Department of Health. (2011, March 27). The MNCHN Manual of Operations 2011.
https://doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/publications/MNCHNMOPMay4withECJ.pdf
Department of Health. (2018, October 17). National Safe Motherhood Program.
https://doh.gov.ph/national-safe-motherhood-program