WUNRN
|
Maternal
mortality remains a key challenge for the |
A study
by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the State of the World
Population 2008, states that 230 women die for every 100,000 live
births, compared with 110 in
Causes
of maternal deaths are haemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labour, hypertensive
disorders in pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion – most of which
are preventable with proper diagnosis and intervention, health specialists
said.
“The
maternal mortality ratio [MMR] in the
“We are
not making sufficient progress,” she said.
Crucial
to reducing maternal deaths is having a skilled attendant present during a
delivery.
“Only
60 percent of the births in the
“The
intermediate goal to reach the MDG is to have a skilled attendant present
during every birth. Until that happens, we will not be able to reduce the
number of maternal deaths in this country,” said Tobin.
Based
on results of national health surveys,
“Concerted
efforts need to be taken to accelerate and promote cost-effective
interventions, such as easy access to emergency obstetric care; increasing the
number of births in health facilities; and universal access to reproductive
health services, including family planning,” says Plaza.
Reproductive health
|
An estimated 4,500 women die
each year due to complications related to child birth |
According
to the 2006 Family Planning Survey (FPS), only 50.6 percent of women used
family planning methods – unchanged in the past six years.
In the
Condoms,
the Pill and other contraception are equated with abortion, which is illegal.
As a result, contraception is not available in most government and rural health
clinics.
House
Bill 5043, known as the Reproductive Health Bill, advocates a comprehensive
range of programmes and services addressing sexual and reproductive health,
including education and universal access to both traditional and modern family
planning services.
The
bill has been languishing in legislative debates for two decades, preventing
women, especially in lower income groups, from obtaining reproductive health
information and services.
Regional disparities
Specialists
say the maternal mortality figures may be scratching the surface as distribution
of healthcare among more than 7,000 islands poses a significant challenge.
The
wide disparities between urban provinces in Luzon and the underdeveloped
provinces in
Data
from the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) and 2006 FPS shows
that in the National Capital Region (including Manila), a reported 90 percent
of births are supervised by a skilled birth attendant. In the Autonomous Region
of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), it is 24 percent.
“In
some cases, one midwife is assigned to two to three barangays [small
administrative divisions], which are separated by vast bodies of water. So many
women opt to go to a community-based traditional birth attendant,” said Fatima
Pir Allian, a programme manager for Neighbours Population Development Center,
Inc, an NGO that works with the UNFPA.
Inaccessibility
and lack of personnel are the main factors that contribute to
Three decades
of armed conflict has exacerbated the problem of lack of personnel and
accessibility, said Allian.
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