Help Pregnant Patients during Coronavirus Pandemic

Dear Supporters,

On May 5, the World Health Organization declared the end of the Covid-19 global health emergency. After more than three years of disruption and tragedy, resilience and change, we are beginning to look back and reflect.

What does the end of the pandemic emergency mean in a poor, low-resource country like the Philippines, where surviving birth is not a given? What does it mean to say the crisis is over when pregnant women are still refused care at local hospitals, or turned away for lack of money to pay for life-saving emergency care?

 First, we want to thank you, our concerned and generous donors, for stepping up when the COVID-19 crisis struck and was truly urgent. You saved lives with your quick actions so that we could get vital healthcare and food to families in lockdown and pay for all the extra expenses the pandemic demanded.

 Second, now that families have jobs again, food is available to most, and healthcare is a bit more readily available, we will de-activate this project and ask that you support our ongoing Mercy In Action projects to help pregnant women and children living in poverty. We are still providing quality prenatal care every day, delivering 40-plus babies each month, and helping to lift families out of poverty by granting them healthcare that does not include the necessity of cash at the time of care or crippling debt later. Our First 1,000 Days project provides maternity care and child health care up to the 2^nd birthday. We are committed to ensuring that mothers and their babies survive and thrive, regardless of their circumstances at birth.

 This is the Mercy In Action project we would ask you to support with your monthly and one-time donations going forward:

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/mercy-in-actions-first-1000-days/

Blessings and gratitude,

Vicki

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/mercy-in-actions-first-1000-days/ 

Links:

• Mercy In Action website

We appreciate your support of our maternity care services during this time of pandemic; your giving makes all the difference. Three years in, the evidence thus far shows that pregnant women infected with COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)  are at higher risk for severe disease, death, and complications in their pregnancies.

Why, you may ask?

During pregnancy, the body undergoes drastic physical and immunological changes to accommodate the growing baby, and some of these changes increase vulnerability to respiratory viruses such as COVID-19. For example, during pregnancy you produce more blood than normal in order to sustain the placenta. To pump that blood around, cardiovascular output can increase by as much as 40 percent, leaving you more vulnerable to heart attack and heart failure—conditions that overlap with COVID-19 complications. As the uterus grows it pushes against the diaphragm, making it difficult to draw deep breaths or to cough forcefully, which is why when you are pregnant, you are at a higher risk for developing pneumonia if exposed to the COVID-19 virus. 

These and other possible reasons are why COVID-19 hits our population more severely. Mercy In Action ensures that women get the support they need through prenatal care, vitamins and food as needed to support a healthy pregnancy for everyone we serve. During labor and delivery, local families are cared for in our facility, where we follow the 12 Steps to Safe and Respectful Maternity Care. And postpartum, we provide checkups for the mother and baby and follow the progress and development of the child for two full years.

With your support, we are able to care for more than 50 mothers each month in our clinics and birth centers in the Philippines, keeping our motto to provide "Safe Motherhood and Newborn Survival: One Good Birth at a Time" even in these difficult times of global pandemic.

Blessings and gratitude,

Vicki

Links:

• Mercy In Action website

      During the global pandemic, pregnant women have faced many obstacles hindering their maternity care with lockdowns keeping them at home and reduced clinic hours in many places. Incarcerated women in the Philippines have been especially isolated as visitors to prisoners have been banned during much of the pandemic.  One exception to this rule is that medical personnel have been permitted to still visit even when others cannot.  In these situations, our courageous Mercy In Action staff have not only provided excellent maternity care, but have also met the need for social interaction and support for lonely, uncared for pregnant patients who are incarcerated.  

      For the past decade, Mercy midwives have volunteered to go into the women's prison in our region and give prenatal care to the pregnant prisoners. About 10 years ago, Vicki and Rose made arrangements with the prison officials for the women to be able to come to our birth center to deliver, as long as they were experiencing a low-risk pregnancy. We are actively involved in caring for pregnant inmates in several of our birth center locations. 

       Here's a short video in which Vicki tells a story about the prison outreach: Vicki's prison outreach story

      Nerissa, our midwife in Leyte, recently taught a seminar on Maternal/Child Health in the women's prison.  She was able to educate women about pregnancy and provide information for keeping children healthy.  These women may remember this their whole lives, far beyond their time in jail. 

     Rina, our Patient Care Liaison, goes into the prison regularly and brings one of our midwives to do checkups if there are currently any pregnant women incarcerated.  The kindness and respect Rina and the midwives offer these women stand in stark contrast to the way they are treated by the guards and fellow inmates.

      Marlene, one of our midwives in Olongapo, has visited the regional prison to do checkups whenever there are pregnant women inmates, and this year our birth center had a woman brought by the guards when her labor began. This mother had a gentle, natural birth and was treated with respect and an outpouring of love by our midwives.  Her baby had the best start possible to life, and she and the baby will forever have that moment together.

      Your generosity enables Mercy in Action midwives to serve the incarcerated women isolated from their families in their communities while they also faithfully provide routine maternity care to families.   Thank you!

Blessings,

Jenny Fox for the Mercy in Action Team

While the COVID-19 pandemic is still a major factor that negatively impacts health in the Philippines at this time, we are happy to report that Mercy In Action sponsored birth centers and clinics have remained open at all times and continue to meet the needs of pregnant women, their newborns, and their families in a myriad of ways

Our midwives are caring, sensitive, and alert to signs of danger in the provision of maternity care.

Our clinics continue to share food with those in need during a time of high unemployment.

Our ambulances have been running as usual, in spite of the higher cost of gasoline.

Our birth centers have stayed open 24 hours per day, rain or shine, throughout the pandemic and the natural disasters we have experienced recently.

Thanks to your donations, the midwives of Mercy In Action have been able to serve steadfastly for over two years, and continue to provide high-quality, compassionate, and appropriate care to all the pregnant women and families we serve.

Because of you, no disaster or pandemic is a barrier to survival during childbirth and early infancy. Your generosity and vision to help the most vulnerable get through this time of crisis is heartwarming to all of us on the frontlines.

Blessings and Thanks,

Vicki 

For the Mercy In Action team

Links:

• Mercy In Action website

Thank you for your kind support of this project to help our pregnant women and postpartum mothers, and their families, during these times of hardship in the Philippines. Most of our patients do not own a car, and public transportation became very expensive during the pandemic. In addition, we are still helping families with food as needed, and we drive the new families home in our ambulance after they have recovered from birth.

Jem is a woman who expressed appreciation for the extra care and concern. She says that having a baby during a global pandemic was scary for her, but the midwives at the Mercy In Action sponsored birth center were kind and helpful and kept all safety precautions and protocols to keep her and her baby safe. She says "Maraming Salamat Po", meaning "Thank you very much!" 

Please be assured that your donations are making a difference, now more than ever. 

Blessings and love from the Mercy In Action team,

Vicki

Links:

• Mercy In Action website