DOH launches new program for premature babies

MANILA, Philippines - With some 300,000 Filipino babies born either too small or prematurely, the Department of Health (DOH) and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. launched on Friday a new benefit package.

Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo said the PhilHealth Z Benefit Package was designed to guarantee financial risk protection for mothers and preterm and low birth weight infants.

The package was developed with financial and logistic supports from the United Nations Children’s Fund.

“This ensures that quality health services are being given to preterm babies and low birth weight without the financial burden to their families. The package includes P600 for corticosteroids and P3,000 for medicine to prevent pre-eclampsia and eclampsia,” he noted in yesterday’s first National Summit on Prematurity and Low Birth Weight.  

The corticosteroids will be given to pregnant women who are at risk of giving birth early.

The package also includes P4,000 to transfer mother to a specialized hospital and P24,000 to P35,000 for interventions to prevent complications related to prematurity and low birth babies.

Bayugo added that “three quarters of preterm babies could survive if they had access to cost-effective interventions. Because of critical socio-economic disparities, however, these interventions remain inaccessible to many.”