The City Health Office (CHO) has intensified its safe motherhood program to address maternal deaths in Davao City, which recorded 22 deaths in 2021.
CHO Technical Division Head Dr. Julinda Acosta, in an interview with the City Information Office (CIO), said, “Common causes of maternal death are hemorrhage and eclampsia or high blood pressure.”
Maternal deaths, according to her, refer to those who die during pregnancy, delivery, and within the postpartum period.
In a CHO report, Buhangin District had the most maternal deaths with four, followed by Toril-A and Bunawan districts, which each had three deaths.
Talomo South, Tugbok, and Toril-B districts, for their part, each logged two deaths even as districts B, A, Baguio, Baguio, Paquibato, Calinan, and Talomo North registered one maternal death apiece.
The CHO lined up consultative meetings on safe motherhood program updates for all district health staff to address low-quality prenatal care. At least 18 batches of consultative meetings were scheduled this year.
The creation of a District FB Page for Pregnant Women in the community was also recommended as a venue for stakeholders to get advocacy updates on prenatal care and programs and access online consultation.
The CHO also planned to create a District Safe Motherhood Program Hotline and schedule a district/barangay safe motherhood services mobile clinic that includes the provision of a vehicle, nutrition counseling, oral health services, laboratory examination, and micronutrient supplementation. Iron supplement tablets for pregnant women were to be procured by the CHO.
A consultation meeting on the safe motherhood program for all private midwives with lying inn clinics was conducted, where referrals and service provision, health information system, and recording and reporting were also discussed.
The CHO’s ongoing maternal care and services include prenatal care, intrapartum care, delivery outcome, and postpartum care.
For prenatal care, barangay/district health centers provide nutritional status by measurement of body mass index, immunization against Tetanus-Diphtheria (two doses for the first pregnancy, at least three months for the second or more pregnancy; micronutrient supplementation of iron with folic acid; one deworming tablet; STI testing (syphilis, hepatitis B, and HIV); laboratory testing (complete blood count or hemoglobin and hematocrit count; gestational diabetes). CIO
