Monday, July 14, 2008
DOH stops home child deliveries due to deaths of mothers, babies
By Elisabeth P. Baumgart
Sun.Star Correspondent
NOW in her third trimester, Elsa Cavanada, 27, cannot wait to give birth to her first child.
“My first child is a boy,” she said, while touching with a smile her very pregnant belly. She shared that she was very excited at the prospect of finally seeing her first child and being able to hold him.
She, however, did admit that she was slightly scared at the thought of finally giving birth.
“I know that it will hurt, that’s why I’m scared,” she confided to Sun.Star.
To ensure that nothing will go wrong during her delivery, Cavanada said she has been regularly seeing her obstetrician at Cebu Doctors’ Hospital.
And with only two months until her due date, everything concerning the hospital is ready once the big day come.
She said she would rather be in the hospital than give birth at home, “for safety reasons.”
Cavanada is among the 40 percent of all women in the country who opt to deliver in a medical facility.
The Department of Health (DOH) reports that a “staggering” 60 percent of live births are done in homes.
“And (with most) giving birth at home, there is an increase in the mortality rate of mothers,” said Dr. Maria Socorro Entera of the DOH 7 Maternal and Child Health Section.
She said mothers also expose themselves to higher risks of death and birth complications when they give birth at home.
DOH records showed that in 100,000 live births in the country, 162 mothers die during delivery; and out of 1,000 infants, 26 die.
Entera said complications such as postpartum-hemorrhage, prolonged labor, infections, and hypertension during pregnancy are the most common problems encountered during deliveries done at home.
“These are problems that need to be addressed immediately; however, how can they be addressed if the birth is done at home?” said Entera.
Assistants
The DOH is discouraging mothers to get the help of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), or local hilots and mananabangs, prescribing that they should go to medical facilities capable of handling births.
Entera said only skilled medical personnel, specifically midwives, nurses and doctors, should handle live births.
She said, though, that the DOH is not entirely ditching the TBAs, some of whom had been trained to facilitate live births.
“TBAs will be members of the women’s health team in the health clinics. TBAs will track down all pregnancies and assist the medical personnel during birth; but they will not handle the (actual) live birth,” she said.
4 visits
To ensure that no complications will arise, Lotgarda Harbias, DOH family planning coordinator, said women must see their doctors at least four times during their pregnancy.
“Pregnant women only go to the doctor when problems arise,” she lamented.
Harbias said pre-natal visits are a must to ensure that both mother and child are healthy.
Health center pre-natal services are for free, she said, and mothers can avail themselves of free vitamins and vaccines, too.
Some upgraded health centers may even also facilitate live births.
“The health centers in Guadalupe, Talamban, and Mabolo (in Cebu City) are just some,” she said.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 14, 2008 issue)
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