Group bucks DOH's 'no home birthing policy'

MANILA, Philippines - A non-government organization on Monday said it opposes the "no home birthing policy" of the Department of Health in a bid to curb the soaring number of maternal and infant deaths in the country.

The Council for Health Development said the growing number of maternal mortality rate is attributed to the home births unsupervised by skilled health professionals.

Grace Cuasay, a registered midwife and director of Health, Education, Training and Services department of the Council for Health Development, said the policy will, on the contrary, only increase maternal and neonatal mortality.
 
She said pregnant women, especially those living in remote rural areas, will be further burdened by the "no home birthing policy" because public birthing facilities are scarce and very far.

"In Nueva Ecija, a woman about to give birth walked and crossed a river to the get to the nearest birthing facility.  She and her child died before reaching the nearest birthing station.  In Iloilo, a Basic Emergency Obstetric Care facility serves 45 barangays and pregnant women have to travel three days to reach this birthing station," Cuasay said.

Under the policy, all pregnant women should give birth only in hospitals and lying-in centers. Midwives are no longer allowed to deliver babies in homes. 

The DOH has encouraged nurses and midwives to put up lying-in centers.

Cuasay said that to address the problem, the government should first admit that home delivery is not the primary reason why maternal mortality is high.

She said the government should provide more doctors, nurses and midwives in rural communities, until the World Health Organization-prescribed ratio of 1:500 midwife to population is met and "hilots" or traditional birth attendants should also be seen as a complement to public health workers in the rural setting and should be provided trainings and tools for more effective and efficient provision of basic health service.

Based on CHD's figures, only 17,000 of the country’s total 41,000 barangays, or 41 percent, have government established health stations which are often ill-equipped and lacked facilities, medicines and staff.

There is only one barangay midwife who services three to five barangays, translating to 1:6,578 midwife to population ratio.

On the other hand, the DOH reported that country's maternal mortality rate rose to 221 per 100,000 live births in 2012 from 162 in 2009.  - Dennis Carcamo