The scope of the problem about Maternal and Child Health (MCH) in the Philippines is rather unpleasant in such that it is among the countries in Asia Pacific where there is high incidence of maternal and child deaths and mother and child transmission of HIV. There is also an alarming issue in relation to MCH pertaining to an indigenous people in Mindanao, the B’laan communities’ preference and choice of traditional practice and beliefs in lieu of Western medicines. Other related issue cites a report entitled “The State of Filipino Mothers 2008” from the Save the Children, an international non -government organization, that reported 11 Filipino mothers die everyday due to childbirth and other pregnancy related complications. The number totals to 4,000 the maternal deaths annually. According to the said report, there are six (6) primary reasons why this has been so as follows:1) limited access to quality maternal care; 2) the lack of access to a full-range of reproductive health care that includes information to family planning and the like services; 3) Unplanned pregnancies that lead to induced abortions; 4) the lack of political will to provide maternal health services; 5) the lack of funds from the government health sector which falls only to about 3.3 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is way below from the average target which is 5% of the GDP of a certain country; 6) the absence of actual reproductive health law to ensure easy access of quality health information that would include maternal health and child care, one that would be funded adequately by the government itself.
Limited access to quality maternal care leads to the increased mortality rates of maternal and child deaths. It has been reported that only about less than 4 out of 10 births are delivered in health facilities, the others especially those mothers from rural areas still deliver their babies at home. Women living in urban areas however, had the sad and alarming tales of being rejected by hospitals due to lack of space and equipment as well as negligence and obvious lack of concern and care from personnel who for whatever reason do not regard child birth as an emergency case.
Lack of a comprehensive reproductive health services on the other hand, could be attributed why mothers fall on the wayside, such that by having such, mothers should have been properly informed about essential matters that pertains but not limited to proper birth spacing, planned pregnancy and low fertility. While according to the same report from Save the Children, unplanned pregnancies occur to about half of all pregnancies and thus resort to abortion of which could have been otherwise prevented, again, in the presence and availability of a comprehensive family planning. Planned pregnancies could have prevented the occurrence of 800 maternal deaths from abortions. Most of the reported 400,000 abortions annually were performed under unsafe medical practices and were done in the most unsanitary conditions.
On the other hand, the obvious lack of funds from both the local and national levels in the area of health services to as far as among the lowest among the countries in Southeast Asia at 3.3% of the GDP which is way below the 5% of the GDP as set by the World Health Organization (WHO) as indicators to adequate health coverage, contributes to a very poor health service especially to vulnerable mother and child. It looks like that this government relies mainly to private sectors and to individual household to take care of about half of all the expenses related to family planning program.
From the looks of it, though the Philippines has had a rather longer history of progress and development, we are still leveling up with the poor nations because we are still wanting in terms of maternal and child health services, a major yardstick of development. A substantial number of the country’s population still does not have an access to maternal health care and yet, birth rate continues to grow faster than many of the poor countries of the world.
There has to be a sound, comprehensive and sustainable program for maternal and child health service. The main issue should be that no woman deserves to die while giving birth and that no babies should die because of any unplanned pregnancy or because poor mothers bore them. The government should take a serious look of the situation.
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