DOH highlights primary care to address rise in obstetric deaths

Amid reports that the number of direct obstetric deaths rose in the first half of the year, the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday stressed the importance of primary care to address the underlying illnesses that increase the chances of complications during pregnancy among mothers.

The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) earlier said that the number of direct obstetric deaths in the country—or deaths of mothers during pregnancy, while in labor, or after giving birth—-increased to 468 from January to June 2022 compared to 425 deaths recorded in the same period last year.

This made direct obstetric deaths the 39th leading cause of death in the country. Newborn deaths, meanwhile, became the 17th cause of death from January to June this year.

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the majority of maternal mortalities directly result from pregnancy complications that occur during labor, delivery, and the postpartum period.

These complications, based on DOH assessments, include hypertension, post-partum hemorrhage, severe infections, and other medical problems due to poor birth spacing, maternal malnutrition, unsafe abortions, and the presence of concurrent infections like tuberculosis, malaria, and sexually transmitted infections, or lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension.

“These are all complications that could be detected and prevented if we ensure adequate prenatal visits for all expecting mothers,” Vergeire said in a statement.

DOH said that implementing primary care as the “flagship reform” under Universal Health Care (UHC) will also address the issues of the accessibility of healthcare services—particularly maternal and newborn healthcare services—which also drive mortality among mothers and newborns.

The agency said it applies safeguards to protect the health of mothers as they navigate motherhood by ensuring that Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Nutrition (MNCHN) services are accessible.

With this, DOH added that it would expand the provision of services under the MNCHN Core Packages by designating facilities and providers in healthcare provider networks that will deliver services during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, delivery, postpartum, and newborn periods.

It will also make sure that all identified providers can provide relevant MNCHN services such as but not limited to family planning, micronutrient supplementation, and newborn care.

“Alam natin na ang primary care ay napakahalaga, sapagkat sa pagsulong natin nito, sinisiguro natin na ang ating mga serbisyo ay health-promotive and preventive in nature. Ibig sabihin, sa primary care, mas fino-focus natin ang pag-detect at pag-manage sa mga sakit bago pa ito lumala o maging sanhi ng mga komplikasyon tulad nang nakikita natin sa ating mga maternal and newborn mortalities,” Vergeire said.

(We know that primary care is very important because as we promote it, we ensure that our services are health-promotive and preventive. This means that in primary care, we focus more on detecting and managing diseases before they get worse or cause complications as we see in our maternal and newborn mortalities.)

“Sa pamamagitan ng primary care, masisiguro natin na ang lahat ng mga nanay, anumang estado nila sa buhay, ay makararanas ng komprehensibo at dekalidad na serbisyong pangkalusugan—sa ganitong paraan lamang natin tunay na matutugunan ang maternal and infant mortalities,” she added.

(Through primary care, we can ensure that all mothers, regardless of their state in life, experience comprehensive and quality health services. It is only in this way can we truly address maternal and infant mortalities.)

The DOH is likewise working with its regional counterparts to establish more specialty hospitals and health facilities that will cater to the specific needs of patients all over the country. This will grant access to the full continuum of care for mothers and newborns from the community level to health facilities.

Further, Vergeire called on local government units (LGUs) to step up their implementation of primary care.

To support the LGUs, DOH said it is conducting the Safe Motherhood Program which provides “rational and responsive policy direction to local government partners in delivering quality maternal and newborn health services with integrity and accountability using proven and innovative approaches.”

“Sa pagbuo ng primary care-focused health system na poprotekta sa ating mga ina at kanilang mga anak, napakalaki po ng papel ng ating mga lokal na pamahalaan, sapagkat alinsunod sa UHC Law, ang ating mga LGU ang may pangunahing responsibilidad na bumuo ng health systems at primary care provider networks sa kani-kanilang mga lokalidad,” Vergeire said.

(In building a primary care-focused health system that will protect our mothers and their children, the role of our local governments is very important, because according to the UHC Law, our LGUs have the main responsibility to build health systems and primary care provider networks in their respective localities.) — DVM, GMA News