BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO – Incidence of maternal death in this province is still one of the concerns that the Provincial Health Office (PHO) is trying to address through widespread information dissemination.
PHO records showed that there were 13 maternal deaths in 2012, a little higher compared to 2013 with 10 recorded cases.
According to PHO Officer 1 Dr. Soccoro Colmenares-Quiñon, the top five leading causes of maternal deaths were uterine atony, retained placenta, abortion, sepsis, and eclampsia.
The provincial health officer blamed the continuing incidence of maternal deaths in the province to the “attitude” of the couples or of the pregnant women.
For instance, Quiñon disclosed, based on their latest data only 56 percent of the 55,281 pregnant women were submitting themselves for prenatal check-up.
“No spacing” in bearing child is also one of the factors that threatens the life of the mother because it causes the uterus to weaken, which could result in bleeding and possibly death. The rural health units in the province are gearing towards promoting prenatal awareness among pregnant women and subsequently information on family planning, Quiñon said.
“No mother should die giving birth,” she emphasized
She added that the gap of pregnancy should be three to four years.
She advised mothers who just gave birth to continue breastfeeding to avoid immediate pregnancy.
Also, she recommended post-partum family planning using intra-uterine device, injectables and pills, among others.
“These are all available and we have an abundant supply in our health centers. Yet only a few avail themselves of these due to lack of information,” Quiñon said..
Quiñon added that the Department of Health has deployed nurses in the provinces to disseminate family planning information./PN
