Birth Center Saves MotherBaby Lives in Philippines

Our newest Mercy In Action sponsored birth center, Imago Dei Health & Birth Center, has been envisioned and brought to life as an important piece of the maternity care puzzle in Olongapo.  In each sponsored birth center, we are eager to provide safe and respectful care to the families in our care.  We also see the importance of our role in the larger community of collaboration and devote resources and time to build those relationships. The International Childbirth Initiative’s 12 Steps for Safe and Respectful MotherBaby Family Maternity Care guides our work in every birth center.  Step 11 in that series highlights providing a continuum of collaborative care as a crucial part of providing safe and respectful care for all families.  Building relationships and establishing trust with other maternity care providers in our community creates the best outcomes for mothers and babies. 

 This report begins with a picture of one of our midwives, an obstetrician, and a pediatrician partner signing a memorandum of agreement for collaborative patient care at Mercy In Action sponsored Imago Dei Health & Birth Center!  These kinds of agreements save lives because they pave the way for smooth and swift transfers of care that avoid deadly delays. 

In the pictures below, you will see some other ways we are collaborating in our community. The OBs and Pediatricians in our local hospital were so excited that they could now practice saving the lives of babies who don't breathe at birth with Laerdal's newest computerized simulator that we donated.   We also donated valuable teaching aids and updated training on Neonatal Resuscitation to the local hospital.  We are committed to improving maternal and infant health outcomes in our community by working with other maternity care providers rather than in competition against them.  Our entire birth center team made a courtesy call to the Mayor of our city, who endorsed the new birth center with enthusiasm based on our evidence-based care strategies. 

Your faithful support makes all of this possible!  Maternity care in Olongapo can be seen as a puzzle that will only make a cohesive image by every piece in its place, and the donations you generously give allow Mercy In Action sponsored Imago Dei Health & Birth Center to be a piece of that beautiful picture. 

Thank you from the Mercy In Action global team! 

Links:

• Mercy in Action

One of the ways Mercy In Action changes birth outcomes is by reaching out into the community to find pregnant women who may not be able to come to us to access prenatal care for one reason or another. This includes a jail ministry that we have had for years, on two different islands in the Philippines. In Olongapo, where we are building a new birth center, the prison warden will call us the next day if a pregnant woman is arrested overnight so that we can begin to give care for her and her growing baby and prevent complications. We arrive with free prenatal vitamins as well. Often, it is the first check-up of any kind that she has had during her current pregnancy.

Recently Mercy In Action was featured in a post put out by the Olongapo Jail. Here is what the warden wrote: 

Amidst uncertainties, Ms. Marlene Domalaon and Ms. Meddie Raaging of Mercy in Action, Olongapo City become a beacon of hope for a pregnant Person Deprived of Liberty through the conduct of medical assistance (Pre-Natal Checkup). With compassion and expertise, they also conducted a Doppler Ultrasound, allowing the mother-to-be to hear her baby's heartbeat for the very first time. Overwhelmed with emotion, tears of joy flowed as she realized the miracle growing within her. In this moment of connection, Mercy in Action reaffirms the power of love and care in transforming lives.
The Olongapo District Jail Female Dormitory under the leadership of JSINSP, Acting District Jail Warden, would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the said organization for the unending support to our PDL.

We are proud of our team of midwives who offer respectful and dignified prenatal care in our local jails and prisons so that all pregnant women have access to quality prenatal care and childbirth education, given freely with love.

If you would like to read more about Mercy In Action's activities in the Olongapo prison, including a Mother's Day Women's Empowerment/ Know Your Worth activity , you can follow the stories at  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092192341993 

Thank you for donating to Mercy In Action to help the less fortunate with top-quality and loving maternity care! 

Links:

• Mercy In Action website