11 Pinoy mothers die daily due to pregnancy complications

MANILA, Philippines – Eleven Filipino mothers die daily due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth, a recent study by an international child welfare organization revealed yesterday.

The State of the Filipino Mothers 2008, released by Save the Children, showed that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) continues to face alarmingly high maternal mortality rate due to the lack of access to better reproductive health services.

The report, meanwhile, found that 90 percent of all births in the National Capital Region (NCR) are attended by skilled birth attendants compared to 22 percent in the ARMM.

Dr. Stephanie Anne Sison, project director of the Advocacy for Improved Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning (AIM), said the study found that NCR and the ARMM are the “best” and “worst” places, respectively, in the Philippines to become a mother.

In her presentation at the University of the Philippines’ Balay Kalinaw yesterday, Sison said that 92 percent of mothers in the NCR seek pre-natal care from health personnel and 46 percent are using some modern method of family planning.

She said the regions that ranked high for maternal and child health and educational and economic status were the NCR; Central Luzon (Region 3); CALABARZON (Region 4-A); Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); and Davao (Region 11).- Helen Flores, Philippine Star