ILOILO City – Most pregnant women who died in Western Visayas in 2017 were from Negros Occidental.
A combination of direct and indirect causes led to these maternal deaths, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Negros Occidental posted the highest number of maternal deaths in the region with 46, partial available data from DOH Region 6 showed.
Fifteen maternal deaths were recorded in Antique, 13 in Capiz, 10 in Iloilo province, eight in Bacolod City, five in Aklan, three in Iloilo City, and one in Guimaras.
Dr. Mary Ann Matillano, Family Planning and Safe Motherhood Program medical coordinator of the DOH Region 6, said they were expecting to record more cases.
In the past five years – from 2012 to 2016 – maternal deaths in Negros Occidental numbered 142, said Matillano.
“Kon kuhaon naton ang five-year trend since 2012, Negros (Occidental) gid ang may highest sa maternal deaths for Region 6,” Matillano said.
She did not discount population as a factor in the large number of maternal deaths in Negros Occidental.
That province is the most populous in the region, with 2,396,039 people as of the 2010 Census of Population, Philippine Statistics Authority data showed.
Iloilo province comes next with 1,805,576; Capiz, 719,685; Antique, 546,031; Aklan, 535,725; and Guimaras, 162,943.
As for the causes of the maternal deaths in 2017 so far recorded, 59 were “direct” while the remaining 42 were “indirect.”
Direct causes, explained Matillano, are complications during and after pregnancy and childbirth. They include:
* severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth)
* infections (usually after childbirth)
* high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia)
* complications from delivery
* unsafe abortion
On the other hand direct causes include suicide, accident, or disease and infection that affected the pregnancy, like HIV, diabetes and mental disorder.
In Western Visayas, the top causes of maternal deaths in 2017 were hypertensive disorder during pregnancy and hemorrhage, or bleeding, Matillano said.
Ten percent of these maternal deaths comprised pregnant women who chose to give birth at home instead of the Rural Health Unit or a birthing facility, the DOH said.
But basing even just on partial data, Matillano believes the maternal death rate in 2017 will be lower than in 2016.
As far as the available data are concerned, the maternal mortality ratio in the region in 2017 was 59 percent for every 100,000 live births.
In 2016, the maternal mortality ratio was 71.63 percent for every 100,000 live births, and 82 fatalities were due to direct causes.
Matillano said the Health department was sustaining its information campaign on how to avoid maternal deaths in local government units.
She encouraged women to get themselves checked as soon as they know they are pregnant so they could be given the necessary supplements that will help in gestation.
Very crucial is the first trimester, where the child develops vital organs, Matillano said./PN
