Infant deaths reveals risks to moms in typhoon-hit Philippines

A United Nation’s agency warns that more than three million women and girls of reproductive age could face risky deliveries in typhoon-affected areas of the Philippines since the storm destroyed many health facilities that provide much-needed pre- and post-natal care.

MANILA—Each year countries around the world celebrate the first new lives born after midnight on Jan. 1. But at a hospital in a part of the Philippines still recovering from November’s typhoon, the New Year was marked by tragedy.

On New Year’s Eve, 32-year-old Vivian Aplaca gave birth to her third child, an 8.1-pound girl, in one of these UNFPA emergency maternity units located in the town of Palo.

Ms. Aplaca, who has been living in an evacuation center with her family since the storm, labored for 24 hours before doctors decided to perform a cesarean section.

Dr. Mario Aguilar, a UNFPA reproductive health coordinator based in Tacloban who was present during the operation, said that despite all their trauma, the baby and mother are fine. Another woman, Gladys Libria, also gave birth in Palo to a child she plans to call Nino, which is Spanish for small boy.

Over at the EVRMC, meanwhile, dawn on Jan. 1 finally brought good news to the maternity ward, when a 7.6-pound boy was born to 23-year-old Rebecca Malate, who like Ms. Naranja lives in Tacloban City’s reclamation area.

Haiyan is the deadliest storm ever to strike the Philippines in its modern history. Nearly two months after they typhoon struck, the damage is still being tallied, with more than 6,160 people dead and 4.1 million displaced. –http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-418869/