Beyond flowers, hugs and kisses

It’s Mother’s Day once again on May 10, and a very timely report says the Philippines is ranked a very poor 105^th among 179 countries rated as to their being mother-friendly. Five indicators were used in ranking the best places to be a mom and they were as follows: 1) maternal health; 2) education; 3) income levels; 4) the status of women.

Norway was ranked No.1, while the United States dropped from 31^st to 33^rd, with one American woman at risk of maternal death for every 1,800 live births.  Somalia was at 179^th or dead last.

While gains had been made to reduce maternal deaths in the Philippines, a lot more needs to be done by the government, the private sector and by everyone if we are to show real appreciation to moms beyond giving them flowers, hugs and kisses during Mother’s Day.

And we are talking here of just one of the five indicators – maternal death or dying due to pregnancy or while giving birth. The CIA Fact book pegged maternal mortality rate in the Philippines at 99 deaths per 100,000 live births.

That’s 99 Filipinas dying prematurely while trying to bring into this world another life. It’s a rate that is way too high and totally unacceptable more so since it arises from limited access to maternal health care, especially among the poorest of the poor in far-flung barrios.

That maternal mortality rate among Filipinas is doubly painful if we consider that there are many unemployed registered nurses and midwives in the country. Why not deploy them to the barrios and rural communities in support of our limited number of doctors?

By doing so, our government would not only increase the poor’s access to medical and health services, it would also reduce the unemployment rate among Filipinas in the medical and allied professions. -end-

Image by dzrhnews.org