Rise in maternal deaths noted

THE rise of maternal and mortality rate (MMR) is a big challenge to local government units (LGU) in the country and access to family planning services remains a big obstacle.

Dr. Betty Polido, president of the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP) Iloilo chapter, pointed the government’s lack of a national policy on family planning and reproductive health that remains stagnant for over a decade.

Results of last year’s Family Health Survey (FHS) present a clear picture on the efforts of the government that failed miserably to address the lack of access to health services, particularly on reproductive health.

Polido said the Department of Health (DOH) admitted the rising maternal deaths and the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) grant program of the government has not been very effective since it has resulted in uneven and non-standardized provision of services.

The 2011 Family Health Survey showed that between 2006 and 2011, the MMR increased from 162 to 221. This means that the number of Filipino mothers who died in childbirth had risen from 162 in 2009 to 221 in 2011 per 100,000 live births.

Polido said there is an existing need for the passage of the reproductive health bill, which Congress failed to appreciate and enact.