DAVAO CITY — In this year’s State of Filipino Mothers Report, Davao City ranked one of the five best places to be a mother.
The annual report seeks to find out which regions in the Philippines are succeeding or failing in saving the lives of mothers and, in turn, their children.
Save the Children health manager Edwin Ylagan presented presented the rReport during the pilot episode of the media forum initiated by the Mindanao Information Network for Development and Peace (MindPeace).
Ylagan bared that the study examined the investments in health-care access, education, local and national policies for mothers and the community as a whole.
Davao City turned out to have shown best practices that promoted the welfare of mothers. It shares the same spot with the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region.
However, the study also showed worst places to be a mother. The list includes Soccsksargen, Zamboanga Pensinsula, Eastern Visayas, Mimaropa, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The study showed that only 60 percent of the population had four or more prenatal visits, only 50 percent had post-natal visit, and only 39 percent of deliveries are done in a health facility.
Worst, only 60 percent of deliveries are attended by skilled providers. A mere 22 percent of deliveries in ARMM are attended by skilled workers. This is believed to be one of the major causes of maternal deaths.
Health advocates stressed that skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care can reduce maternal deaths by 75 percent.
The study also showed that 11 Filipino mothers are dying daily due to treatable or preventable causes. Limited access to a full range of reproductive health care contributes to the death of Filipino mothers.
Save the Children then recommended various steps to reduce maternal deaths and reach the target set in the Millennium Development Goals.
The organization hopes to see an institutionalized national and local policy to ensure access to comprehensive maternal care for all women.
It also asks support from local governments to shift facility-based delivery and implement programs that promote respect to individual, religious, and culture. (PIA)
