Birth Center Saves MotherBaby Lives in Philippines

The following is an e-postcard from Ana Calvo Langdon, a GlobalGiving Representative in the Philippines.

...This is the first thing expectant moms hear when they enter Mercy In Action’s childbirth clinic. A midwife with a huge smile is ready to give them a tour. The “tour” (that Sandra and I experienced) starts with a video about pregnancy, including doubts that a prospective mum may have, and ends with a tour of the bright, friendly facilities. The goal is to support natural, safe childbirth, enhancing the relationship between the mom and the newborn.

During our visit, we chatted with a midwife who told us: “My favorite part of work is the moment of childbirth because at that time the mothers are already my friends. When they come to the clinic shy and fearful I tell them that we are going to take care of them and everything is going to be ok”. The relationship between the moms and the clinic does not finish after labor. The midwives do home visits and the new moms and babies come for check-ups and postnatal care “lessons”.  We met a mom returning for her 6 week check-up and after the exam Mercy In Action gave the mom a picture they took of her baby when she was born.“It is a moment of celebration and for some of them it’s the only picture that they will have of their babies”.

During our visit, we also learned that Mercy In Action provides trainings to birth centers all over the world so they can replicate its model. Vicky, the founder of the clinic, said “We are happy that clinics based on our model are opening around the world. This is saving lives.” Vicky, actually, came to the Philippines 22 years ago on a visit but she never left. She not only opened the clinic, but also serves the local community by training midwives and providing housing for expectant mothers about to give birth.

Sandra and I were blown away of the amazing clinic, the friendly environment, and the dedicated staff. When I start a family, I hope to be surrounded by a community as loving as Mercy In Action. 

At Mercy In Action, we protect natural birth, even while we are actively preventing deaths of mothers and babies from complications. This is our two-part strategy that is giving us such excellent outcomes.

When the natural process of birth is working, we do not interrupt it or disrupt it with unnecessary interventions. We allow the mother's hormones to function, her body to push out her own baby. She births in a quiet, calm atmosphere. We encourage her to gather the baby to her breast and begin feeding the life-saving colostrum (first breast milk) right way within minutes of delivery. If all goes well, mother and baby are never separated for hours following birth, where they will bond and fall in love, all the while the mother's body is keeping the newborn warm and safe from foreign germs. We know from scientific studies that this is the safest birth of all, when mother and baby are happy together.

When something goes wrong with the natural process of birth, or if disease is present, we react quickly to set things right and keep the mother and baby from any harm. We may need to use drugs to stop a hemorrhage, and start an IV, and use the Anti-shock garment that we have in our emergency supplies; we may need to use a bag and mask to resuscitate the newborn who fails to breath at birth;  we may need to give a baby a shot to prevent that newborn from contracting Hepatitis B from his/her mother at birth. We may need vitamins to treat anemia, or good food to treat malnutrition, in the expectant mother before birth.

Doing less and doing more, Mercy In Action follows best-practice / evidenced-base protocols. We believe a good birth IS a safe birth, and a safe birth IS a good birth. Thank you for helping us provide both to the low-resource women we serve in our birthing home in Olongapo, Philippines

Links:

• Mercy In Action website