Birth Center Saves MotherBaby Lives in Philippines

Summary

Mothers and babies die unnecessarily during childbirth in the Philippines because 50% of the poorest women do not have money to pay a skilled birth attendant. Mercy In Action midwives provide free childbirth services including kind, evidence-based prenatal, labor and delivery, postpartum and newborn care, as well as vitamins, anti-hemorrhage drugs, and immunizations for poor malnourished women, resulting in a maternal and neonatal mortality rate 4-times better than the country of the Philippines

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Mothers and babies die in childbirth when they have no skilled birth attendant at the birth, due to anemia, hemorrhage, infection, hypertension disorders, and obstructed labor. Mothers who deliver in Mercy In Action's birth center receive excellent prenatal care, vitamins, and childbirth education. During delivery, they are given the benefit of up-to-date evidence-based midwifery practices in a clean, well-stocked mother-friendly and baby-friendly environment.

How will this project solve this problem?

Anti-hemorrhage drugs prevent the most common cause of maternal death in the world, which is hemorrhage following childbirth. Vitamins prevent anemia and malnutrition in the pregnant women, preventing prematurity in the baby. Babies who are born to women with Hepatitis B do not acquire the potentially fatal disease because we give the Hep B prevention treatment. Mothers can deliver in a safe, compassionate environment because there is never a user fee for services or drugs at Mercy In Action.

Potential Long Term Impact

So far Mercy In Action has provided free deliveries for 12,000 women in the Philippines. We kept statistics which were printed in a book by medical anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd entitled "Birth Models That Work". These statistics show that Mercy In Action's Birth Centers had excellent results, showing a maternal and neonatal mortality rate 4 times lower than the country we are in. In the coming years thousands more mothers and babies will benefit from this project.

Project Message

Safe Motherhood and Newborn Survival is a Human Rights Issue, and can be accomplished in poor countries by caring people who are willing to help one woman at a time have a good, safe birth.
- Vicki Penwell, Executive Director of Mercy In Action, CPM,LM

Resources

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