BAGUIO CITY – Health authorities revealed that maternal deaths in the different parts of the region is on a down trend over the past four years which is an indicative of the successful interventions that were put in place by concerned government agencies and local governments through the years.
Melanie June P. Caleño, Nurse IV of the Women and Men Health Development Cluster of the Cordillera office of the Department of Health (DOH-CAR), said that in 2015, there were only 15 maternal deaths recorded in the region compared to the 18 cases in 2014, 23 cases in 2013 and 25 cases in 2012.
She reported Abra recorded the highest maternal deaths last year with 5 followed by Apayao and Benguet with 3 maternal deaths each, Kalinga with 2 cases and Baguio and Ifugao with I case each while Mount ain Province achieved the goal of zero maternal deaths last year.
The DOH-CAR official cited there is a growing awareness among pregnant mothers in seeking the appropriate advises from health authorities near their villages and the importance of giving birth in medical facilities and birthing clinics that were established in the barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces natiowide.
For the Cordillera, Caleñno revealed there are 194 birthing stations that includes, hospitals, rural health units and barangay birthing stations which were established in the different parts of the region purposely to help in encouraging pregnant mothers ti give birth in the said facilities for them to avail of better health care services for them and their new born children.
However, she admitted that there are still numerous areas in the region that do not have access to birthing stations that is why they are encouraging mothers from remote communities to live near established birthing stations a week before their expected due date so that they will have access to the services provided by the said birthing stations.
She cited the recorded maternal deaths in the region is 41.9 percent based on the ratio of maternal deaths per 100,000 population and the same is much lower compared to the targeted 52 percent per 100,000 population.
Moreover, she claimed 93 percent of pregnant mothers give birth in established birthing facilities in their respective places while only 7 percent of them are forced to give birth at home because of the remoteness of their places and the inability of the mothers to go to the said facilities to give birth.
The DOH-CAR official expressed confidence that there will be a continuous drop in the number of maternal deaths in the region in the coming years because of the infusion of huge investments by the government and its private partners in the establishment of more birthing stations in the far flung barangays so that people in remote communities will enjoy the enhanced delivery of health care services in the countryside.
By Dexter A. See
