MDG 4: IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH Abas, Labad, Prieto & Remoquillo

What is Maternal Health?  According to WHO, it is the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period

Targets of the MDG #5  Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.  Achieve the universal access to reproductive health.

Indicators  5.A. Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.  Maternal Mortality  Proportion of Skilled attendants to live birth  5.B. Achieve the universal access to reproductive health  Contraceptive Prevalence Rate  Unmet need for family planning

5.1. Maternal Mortality

 In the Philippines, progress is very slow.  Not likely to reach the goal of 62 by  The Slow progress is due to the lack of skilled birth attendants especially in the rural areas.

5.2 Proportion of Skilled Attendants to Live Birth  The number of birth attendants in the Philippines has risen over the years.  There was a ratio of 58.8 skilled attendants to live birth in 1990, and in 2008, it rose 74.0.

5.3 Contraceptive Prevalence Rate

 It is not likely for the Philippines to reach its goal for this indicator.  The Philippines has a low contraceptive prevalence rate.  Due to government’s lack of policy and programs to promote the use of contraception  63% of births are planned. 20% of births are mistimed. 16% are unwanted.

5.4 Unmet need for Family Planning

 According to NSO, it is unlikely that the Philippines will reach this indicator by 2015.

Solutions from the government  The Department of Health has proposed strategies to reach the 52 deaths by 2015:  Encourage women to give birth in health facilities such as hospitals with the proper tools available.  Public Health facilities for women shouldn’t be available in only one place. LGUs should have a public health facility for giving birth. Based on statistics, 78% of women in urban areas are attended by skilled attendants and only 48% of women in rural areas receive this kind of care.

Solutions from the government  More skilled attendants should be hired.The Philippine Obstetrical & Gynaecological launched a training program on Maternal and Immediate Newborn Care for Midwives. This program may raise the probability in achieving this indicator by  Women of reproductive age should have access to reproductive health/ family planning.

Analysis  The only way our country can decrease maternal mortality is if we have more skilled workers, but until then, we will never be able to reach our goal.  Thousands of Filipino women continue to die due to complications related to childbirth; according to health specialists, 230 women from the Philippines die every 100,000 live births, which show a big increase from the rate of maternal mortality in 2006.

Analysis  Only 60% of births in the Philippines are supervised by skilled attendants who have received proper education.